An IT recruitment agency says a “phishing scam” is behind a fake email sent to its customers with details on how to apply for a “Coronavirus Digital Passport.”

The email – sent to applicants and clients of Concept Resourcing, based in Dudley, England, on 14 September and seen by The Reg – claimed users could “Get your Digital Coronavirus Passports (HPS) today” and showed recipients a big juicy link where they could do so.

The link was not a genuine NHS website and appears to have been deleted shortly after.

The scam was quickly spotted by the recruitment biz, which sent an email several hours later warning people not to “interact with the email” and to remain “vigilant.”

A follow-up message sent early evening on 15 September confirmed that Concept Resourcing’s “email software was compromised” and that the email had been sent to a number of undisclosed “candidates and clients.”

“This email was NOT genuine and formed part of a phishing scam using our Concept Resourcing email address,” it said.

The company said it believed a “number of candidate and client email addresses relating to historic interactions had been compromised to conduct this attack.”

It told clients it is currently working with its email provider and security team to identify the cause of the breach.

Concept Resourcing told The Register: “From the moment we discovered this issue, we took steps to notify the affected parties about what had happened.

“We have engaged a well-respected cyber security consultancy to investigate the incident, how it happened and whether there are any steps that could be taken to mitigate the risk of this ever happening again.

“Our investigation is ongoing.”

The issue of COVID-related scams is nothing new and it seems few people or organisations are…