A woman in East Lothian was targeted by what appeared to be an NHS scam that attempted to access her personal information.
Emily R Goldsmith, from Musselburgh, shared an image of the alleged scam that appeared in text message form.
Luckily she says she knows what to look out for when it comes to scams and did not fall for the scammers' attempts to access her personal details.
In the text message, a link can be seen that once clicked on will direct innocent people to enter their bank details in order to pay for a Covid kit.
The message reads: “You have been in close contact with someone who contracted Omicron. You must order a test kit: (the fraudulent link)”
Emily shared the text with a message: “Making people aware this is a scam and to be careful.
“I knew but I think it asks for card details if you open the link which I didn't.”
Speaking to Edinburgh Live about receiving the text and wanting to make others aware of the potential scam, she said: “I got the text last night (Monday night) and I knew straight away it was a scam.
“I haven't ever had anything like this before and know what to look for. The sender usually has a legitimate company name if it is real. I’ve not heard of anyone else that has received the same text.
“Be careful when receiving any suspicious texts or calls. Especially if they ask for any bank details, that's a red flag.”
It is understood that the incident was not reported to the Police at the time so they are unable to comment.
However they do offer a wide range of advice for those that think they may be targeted by scammers online, over the phone or even face to face.
On their website Police Scotland gives the following advice for this type of suspected scam.
On phishing, Police Scotland ask people to be alert for warning signs where an email or text message may begin with generic terms like ‘dear account holder.’
Alongside this, members of the public should look out for electronic messaging that is threatening or states that urgent action is required.
Another tell tale sign is if the correspondence contains a link you do not recognise or if it contains spelling errors that you would not expect from a professional business.
It is worth noting that you should always check that the email address, phone number or other identifying information is correct and be weary of correspondence from companies you have never used before.
That being said, some scams are becoming so sophisticated that they are able to mirror the appearance of legitimate operations.
So if you grow suspicious, ensure to call the business line to gather further reassurances.
Other ways of keeping yourself safe are to run software updates when available, to avoid visiting risky sites and refrain from clicking on suspicious links.
Try to incorporate a spam folder if possible and never give out personal details, passwords or security codes via email or text.
Police also advice to never leave personal documents lying around for anyone to see and to shred personal info instead of just throwing it away.
Advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of a scam or fraud can be found on the Police Scotland website here.
