Members of the public are being warned not to fall for a text scam, where messages are claimed to be from the NHS.

A statement, released by NHS England, said: “NHS England have been made aware of a bogus text message claiming to be from the NHS asking people to confirm both their year of birth and email address.

The message reads: ‘Hi, this is a message from the NHS to confirm your identity please reply with Y followed by your year of birth’. We are told that if you reply, another message is sent asking for an email address.

The NHS does not collect information in this way, therefore we are advising patients and the public not to respond should they receive anything.”

If You Receive This Message

• Do not reply to the text message with any information
• Dial 7726 (or for Vodafone subscribers, 87726). This will enable your mobile network provider to take early action to block numbers that are generating spam – including scam texts – on their networks, and report them to the regulators.
• Report spam text messages directly to your mobile phone provider free of charge by forwarding them to 7726 from the device they are received on.
• If you have lost money as a result of a smishing text, or via any other fraudulent activity, report it to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre by calling 0300 123 20 40 or by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk 

For more information about our work, please visit www.safeinwarwickshire.com/cybercrime

Cyber Aware is a cross-government campaign, funded by the National Cyber Security Programme. They aim to measurably and significantly improve the online safety behaviour and confidence of consumers and small businesses (SMEs).

Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety. Their website offers advice on how you can protect yourself, your computers and devices, and your business against the likes of fraud, identity theft, viruses and other potential online problems.