Test and trace - verification and scammers

[WhyNotMe40]

If we are to have unknown callers ringing us to inform us of contact with a positive case - how will we know they are who they say they are, and how will they know we are the right person?
If they ask identification questions then that gives an opening for scammers to extract information from the vulnerable.
Is anyone else wondering about this?

[iVampire]

Sorry - I missed out a few words which makes a bit of a nonsense about what I posted! Let me post it again, one hopes correctly this time!!

“The message needs to be: always verify who you are talking to before handing over any personal data, whether yours or someone else’s

[mondaynoon]

I guess to start with the track and tracers aren't going to have much to do. They are only contacting close contacts - those who you have spent longer than 15 minutes with at a distance of less than 2m. So for most people at the moment that will be no one.

Once schools start, there will possible be more people as social distancing may be difficult.

[mondaynoon]

No one apart from your household I mean.

[daisychain01]

I really don’t get the mistrust. It’s to get life back to normal and it’s Public Health England running it

I'm not a neysayer as I will be continuing to be extremely careful even when things are "back to normal" (IMO they can never be normal while we have a virus out there with no effective treatment).

However I cannot believe you are questioning the "mistrust" - how about because there are untrustworthy people out there who will take advantage of this health escalation to get what they can, such as identity theft, financial theft, cyber-crime etc, you name it.

It's good that people don't trust blindly! That's a positive thing!.

[Flowersinthewild]

Just reading up on this tracing thing, and stumbled across this thread. Still don’t understand it full or how it will work. I come in to contact with many different people and don’t have their numbers etc some don’t even know their names, how would they be traced? Or if they had tested positive the chances of them tracing me are very slim as well. really trying to understand how this will work.

[YogaLite]

There is no way I would give anyone numbers or emails of my closest friends and I wouldn't want anyone giving mine out.

The numbers are registered to addresses, have names and bank details associated with them - surely that is a potential for fraud/scam in hands of hackers.

[EnlightenedOwl]

I'm not engaging sorry

[Notasyoungasiwas]

I've just been sent a text - I tested positive yesterday. They've given me an account ID to sign in but no password!!

[Barnabyboyo]

So all these months of moaning about lockdown and we get a solution and it’s still not good enough? Really!!!! The reason you can see your family now is because of this. Jesus Christ, I despair

[maxonebitch]

There needs to be clear and extensive publicity via all media channels about how this will work and what will be asked to minimise the number of people who hand over information thinking they are doing the right thing.

If there is mass publicity about what will be asked then that is handing success to the scammers on a plate. Maybe the tracers should phone us with some information that scammers wouldn't know (partial NI number for adults? partial NHS number?) as verification?

[countrygirl99]

A friend has already received an email claiming to be from the NHS tracing team and telling on her to click a link within 24 hours. It threatens legal action for non compliance. She clocked it immediately, others wouldn't.

[EnlightenedOwl]

@Barnabyboyo

So all these months of moaning about lockdown and we get a solution and it’s still not good enough? Really!!!! The reason you can see your family now is because of this. Jesus Christ, I despair

People are already receiving scam emails.. Also not willing to be suddenly held to house arrest at whim.