Earlier this month, British Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed that COVID-secure marshals will not have the power to enforce the law and should instead advise people on how to follow the rules on social gatherings as the coronavirus pandemic persists.
The UK’s Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has warned of an increasing number of scams in the country related to swindlers posing as COVID-19 marshals to gain access to people’s homes.
She added that these scams “are shifting in their theme as the rules and regulations change with individuals now pretending to be COVID-19 secure marshals”.
Hart recalled that they don’t have the power to enter private properties.
She noted that this type of scam “appears in many forms”, referring to a recently obtained information about individuals “pretending to offer flu vaccinations on the door, a concerning development as we enter flu season”.
“I am particularly concerned that elderly and vulnerable individuals may be at risk to this scam. I ask the public and public authorities to spread the correct safeguarding information so that we can stop these unscrupulous individuals from ruining the lives of those already struggling during this challenging time”, Hart pointed out.
The remarks followed UK Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick confirming in an interview with the BBC earlier this month that the COVID-19 marshals are not authorised to “enforce the law”, adding that “if there are particularly egregious examples they would need to escalate that to the police and I think that is the right thing to do”.
He spoke after police in Bedfordshire County said last month that they were investigating reports of two men pretending to be COVID-19 marshals in the city of Dunstable.
According to the UK’s national reporting centre for preventing scam and cyber crime Action Fraud, tens of thousands of Britons have been affected by coronavirus-related scams since the COVID-19 outbreak began in the country in late January.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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