As the first COVID vaccine is being administered to frontline healthcare workers, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office warns of vaccine scams where con-artists play on your anxiety about the pandemic. AG spokesperson Cory Dennis said the fraudsters are making false claims, like…
“Hey, I can get you to the front of the line to get the vaccine, and right now there is no line. Frontline workers are getting the vaccine, nothing else has been set in stone after that, said Dennis.
Dennis says scams about COVID testing, treatments, and personal protective equipment have been ongoing during the pandemic and they fear fraudsters offering too good to be true offers with the vaccine is next.
“It doesn’t make sense for someone to say ‘hey I can get you the vaccine’ because that’s a blatant lie. It’s very controlled right now, mostly for frontline workers and no further distribution has really been set in stone,” said Dennis.
Dennis warns scam-artists will contact you by phone, text, email, or even showing up at your door claiming to be from the government.
“Asking for your social or any type of banking, debit or credit card information that’s a huge red flag because there’s been no indication that there would be significant out pocket cost during the public health emergency,” said Dennis.
The AG’s Office urges you to contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 1-866-720-5721 if you’ve been a victim of such frauds or visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus
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