Phishers, eager to take advantage of an opportunity, are using reports of a new Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 to steal and spoof people's personal information. [It all started last week when the UK consumer review site Which. (question mark intended) received several phishing emails forwarded by readers. The emails all claimed to be from the National Health Service (NHS), England's public health authority, and offered to send readers home test kits for the Omicron variant.

The emails added that everyone living in England needed to take such a test or self-isolate.

"People who do not or cannot consent to COVID-19 testing and refuse to take [the test] swabs must be quarantined," the email stated.

The email provides a link or button for readers to click, and those foolish enough to click it are, as Which. says, "asked for their full name, date of birth, address, mobile [number] and email address - more than enough to attempt identity fraud" on a fake NHS I was taken to a page.

Optionally, I was asked to enter my mother's maiden name as an answer to a "security question." Also, a "shipping fee" of 1.24 pounds (about US$1.65) was required to have what appeared to be an Omicron test delivered to you.

Today (December 6), Bitdefender reported seeing the same scam email repurposed to target U.S. residents, with the sender purportedly the federal Department of Health and Human Services, not the NHS.

The U.S. version is slightly different. Confusingly, it urges an "appointment today" for an Omicron variant test, presumably to be done at a clinic or pharmacy, but then recommends sending a home testing kit.

Instead of providing a link to a website, the U.S. version simply provides a phone number.

"Those who are tricked into calling this number are likely to end up speaking directly with the scammer, who intends to trick them into handing over personal information, including credit card details," Bitdefender's Alina Bîzga wrote in a company blog post.

Needless to say, don't take these e-mails and similar instant messages, text messages, and social media posts at face value. In neither country is there a mandate for COVID-19 testing of the general public, and the tests currently in use can detect the omicron form along with other types of the virus.

If you should fall for one of these scams, you are at serious risk of identity theft. U.S. residents should set up free credit freezes with the Big Three credit bureaus-Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion-and submit fraud alerts to all three. (You only need to contact one agency about the fraud alert, and that agency will notify the other two.)

You can get free weekly reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at annualcreditreport.com at least through April 2022. You also want to consider one of the best identity theft protection services.

U.S. residents may need to file a police report if you are a U.S. resident and someone has used your personal information to commit fraud,https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/に詐欺報告書を提出することも必要である。また、万が一詐欺師にクレジットカード番号を教えてしまった場合は、すぐにカードを発行した銀行に連絡し、不正請求が行われている可能性があることを知らせること。新しいカードを発行してもらう必要があるかもしれない。

so that the Federal Trade Commission can track the fraud. You can find more information in our guide on what to do if your identity is stolen.

In the UK. In this case, you must apply for protection registration with the fraud prevention service Cifas. Protective registration costs £25 and will place a warning on your file in the National Fraud Database. You can also obtain a free credit report from the UK website of each credit bureau: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion.

Also, as in the US, if you give your number to a fraudster, you must contact your credit card bank.