Fraud Alert! Watch Out for COVID Vaccine Surveys

Thanks to the Missouri SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol), the North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging has been made aware of a new scam related to COVID-19 being sent to vaccine recipients. You may receive a suspicious email asking you to complete a survey about your COVID-19 vaccination and offering a free reward in return for you “to cover shipping” by paying a small fee. The email may state there is a limited time to respond to the survey if you wish to claim the reward and may look like it is from one of the major vaccine companies.

Scammers know people have received vaccines and are trying to capitalize on it to steal a consumer’s identity or money or install malware on your computer using a link. Look for typos, which are common in scams, and check the internet to verify logos, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses that appear in the email. A legitimate survey would not assign a time limit nor ask for personal information to pay for a reward. Check out this flyer for more information.

All vaccine recipients should enroll in the Centers for Disease Control V-Safe program at the cdc.gov website, according to the CDC, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the vaccine manufacturers. Enrolling in this program will allow the CDC to monitor your post-vaccine health through questions and can also remind you to get your second vaccine. This is the ONLY survey recommended at this time.

If you believe you have been the victim of a COVID-19 fraud, immediately report it to the FBI (ic3.gov, tips.fbi.gov, or 1-800-CALL-FBI) or HHS OIG (tips.hhs.gov or 1-800-HHSTIPS).

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKA BAUMEISTER ON UNSPLASH