Russian pensioners warned after reports emerge of Muscovites being targeted by scammers offering Covid-19 jabs in their homes

Scammers in Moscow disguised as employees of Russia’s social security services are targeting the capital’s vulnerable pensioners by going door-to-door and offering to vaccinate them against Covid-19 inside their own homes.

As reported by RIA Novosti, some pensioners have raised the alarm after growing suspicious with the cold-callers. It’s not clear if anyone has been caught out by the fraudsters, and what exactly they plan to do once granted access to a pensioner’s home.

One of the scammers’ targets explained that a woman, who wasn’t wearing a suit or medical gown, introduced herself as an employee of the social security department. Another revealed that she did not open up to her visitor because she was not warned in advance, and had never expressed a desire to receive a shot.

Vulnerable Muscovites have been allowed to receive a Covid-19 shot at home since April 13, when Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova revealed a new service aimed at those with mobility problems.

Last month, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced that over a million of the city’s residents had received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. However, the uptake has remained low, and there has been a slight increase in the numbers of those infected. On Friday, Sobyanin encouraged Muscovites to get the shot, noting that vaccination centers are all over the city – even in parks.

“You have to take care of your health. One doesn’t have to [get vaccinated], but then you are doomed to get sick sooner or later, and this has a much greater [risk],” he said.

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