ALERT: Kilkenny residents warned of ‘HSE’ vaccine scam

Kilkenny residents are being urged to not respond to a scam text message doing the rounds in which fruadsters falsely claim to be organising a date for a Covid-19 vaccination.

The text, which was received by numerous people over the weekend, purports to be from the Health Service Executive (HSE), claiming to arrange a vaccination appointment.

In the text, the scammers ask for the person’s PPS number, their date of birth and their address, as well as asking when they would be able to attend for vaccination.

A local Garda spokesperson said: “We would ask that members of the public make contact with any vulnerable friends or family to make them aware of these calls and text messages.

“Other people have received phone calls requesting they make an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine jab at a random hospital. In most cases, the person receiving the call will say they are not in a position to travel to the hospital.

“This allows the caller to extract further personal details. The caller will then offer to come to their residence to administer a vaccine.”

Gardai pointed out that the HSE would never text or call people to request personal information, not would they request payment for a Covid test or vaccine.

The spokesman added: “Your local GP will be the first point of contact about vaccination or Covid testing.”