Police warn ‘beware of online Coronavirus scams’
One victim lost £15,000 after ordering facemasks that were never delivered - presumably after handing over bank access to the fraudsters.
Across the UK Coronavirus scams are already reckoned to have cost victims a collective total of around £800,000.
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Hide AdPolice say they have also seen a wave of phishing scams in which criminals try to trick people into opening malicious attachments or give sensitive personal finance information.
Meanwhile a marketing firm reports people paying staggering amounts online for retailers’ own-brand hand sanitisers, in one case up to 5,000 per cent more than their original price.
The worst example given was a Lidl product which would cost 49p in store selling for £24.99, while a Tesco product priced at 75p was said to be selling for £9.
The legal if unscrupulous mark-up aims to reap a fortune for those concerned amid widespread reports of shortages across the UK.