A new phone circulating around the country includes callers who post as COVID-19 contacts trying to steal your information.
State officials and federal agencies have warned people about the callers, who want your credit card and bank account information.
- Montana’s attorney general revealed the details of one scam, in which callers tell people “I’ll call your local health department to let you know you’ve been in contact with someone who has COVID-19.”
- The caller then asks for your payment information before they can share more information.
- “Legitimate contacts will never ask you to pay a fee. Do not make a payment and end the call. ”- Office of Consumer Protection.
“Tracing of contacts is an important part of managing the distribution of COVID-19. Unfortunately, there are scammers who try to take advantage of the confusion and fear surrounding the coronavirus. Do not give out financial information, and never pay anyone who claims to be a contact person. Legal contacts never ask for payment. ”- U.S. Attorney General Tim Fox said
Health officials told NPR that you should try not to fall for it, because payment information is never separate from the process.
- “That is absolutely not part of the process. Nobody needs to give bank or credit card information, ”Crystal Watson, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told NPR.
- Contacts will call people who may have been infected with the coronavirus to tell them that they may have been exposed for some time and are being quarantined.
