POLICE and health leaders are warning vulnerable residents to be on guard for financial scams linked to the Covid-19 vaccination which are increasingly circulating throughout West Somerset.

Elderly residents in Minehead, Watchet, Dulverton and Williton have received official-looking documents online or by text purporting to come from the NHS saying that they have been selected for a vaccination and asking them to provide financial details so that they can receive a jab

This week, as Action Fraud recorded more than 1,000 complaints of attempted vaccination scams in the UK every day, worried residents took to local social media to highlight the dangers of being taken in by the frauds.

In Minehead, town councillor Toni Bloomfield, an organiser of the town’s Covid support group, said: “All the elderly people we help have been warned about these scams and have been given advice about how to deal with it. We are keeping a close eye on the situation.”

For the full story see this week’s West Somerset Free Press