Heads up! Pa. Health Department issues warning about COVID-19 contract tracing scams

Scammers are out there and they’re preying on people during their most vulnerable moments in the middle of the pandemic.

The Pennsylvania Health Department is telling people to stay alert for COVID-19 tracing scams.

It said fraudulent contact tracers might ask for Social Security numbers or payment of some kind.

The department said legitimate contact tracers will ask for the following:

• Verification of DOB, address, plus any additional phone numbers
• If you’ve already tested positive for COVID-19, they may also ask for the date and location of where you were tested.

“It’s a relatively newer process that people are unfamiliar with which as we know this is something that scammers will always look to take advantage of and people really need to be careful in the sense that it’s possible these scammers may have even been able to obtain personal info through other data breaches,” said Caitlin Driscoll, public relations director of BBB Western Pa

The department also said contract tracers will NEVER ask for:

• Social Security numbers, financial or bank account information or personal details unrelated to COVID-19,
• Photographs or videos of any kind,
• Passwords, money or payment.

If you’re unsure and want to verify that the caller works in contact tracing, call the department of health at 1-877-724-3258 to verify.

Click here to read more from the Department of Health.

Contact tracing apps vulnerable to hackers Contact tracing apps vulnerable to hackers

Cox Media Group