New phishing scams taking advantage of the recently detected Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus have been detected in the UK.

According to new research from consumer watchdog Which?, scammers have started impersonating the NHS to offer free Omicron PCR tests. The fraudsters aim to exploit uncertainties caused by the new variant, including fears that there may be new lockdowns or additional requirements put in place, by advising their victims to “apply now to avoid restrictions”.

According to the scam email, the new variant does not show up on older tests, meaning that new tests have needed to be made. Failing to accept a new test could result in the person being isolated, the scammers claimed.

Predictably, the email comes with a link that leads to a malicious website, designed to imitate the official NHS portal.

Once there, victims are prompted to enter their details, including name and address, along with mobile number and email address.

The scammers also offer the Omicron PCR tests, charging £1.24 for delivery.

These can all be used by scammers to commit identity fraud, Which? noted. The website even requests your mother’s maiden name, a common answer to security questions.

With bank details and personally identifiable information, anyone using the website risks being the victim of bank fraud.

Which? has said that it has reported the scammers’ website to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). However, the group warned that similar scams leveraging the Omicron variant are likely to follow.

Which? also noted that people should never follow links sent in unsolicited emails.

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Exploiting crises and periods of uncertainty is a key trick in the scammers’ playbook, and Covid-19 has proven no exception. Emails, texts and phone calls came in rapidly on the heels of the pandemic, offering everything from information on the vaccine, PPE, financial relief, through to dubious vaccines, cures and fake test results.

Even by April 2020, less than a month into the pandemic, Google revealed it was blocking around 18 million scam emails every day related to the pandemic.

And as the coronavirus changed people’s work and life habits, driving people to work from home and shop online, cybercriminals were quick to exploit these new trends.

This prompted the UK Government to establish a taskforce in October to tackle the increase in scams. Research from Ofcom warned that 44.6 million people in the UK were hit by scam texts or phone calls, around 82% of the population.

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