The Olympia Police Department has
sent out a warning about scammers posing as contract tracers to obtain personal
information.
This is the first indication of
scammers possibly using the contact tracing system to try to conduct ID theft. In
the last week or so, police agencies and the press have reported scammers filing
for unemployment in other people’s names and setting up fake Employment Security
web sites. If reports continue, this will be a demonstration of an additional technique
in the fraudsters bag of tricks to steal your identity and your money.
Olympia PD warns that if someone
calls you claiming that they are a contact tracer and they ask for your Social
Security number or a credit card number, they are a scammer. Hang up!
Olympia PD also reminds citizens
that contact tracers usually call, they do not text or email. So be suspicious
of any texts or emails claiming to be from a contact tracer. DO NOT click on
any links from these texts or emails.
Contact tracers conduct
investigations to slow and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. In Washington
State, most investigations and contact tracing is conducted by local health districts.
When a health district finds out that someone has contracted an infectious
disease, such as COVID-19, they will ask the individual where they have been and
who they have been in contact with. In the case of COVID-19, they want to know about
any one the individual has been in contact with within 6 feet for 10 minutes
while they were infectious. Interviewers will then call the contacts to inform
them about a potential exposure to COVID-19 and to suggest that they self-quarantine.
The Washington State Department of
Health says that interviewers will ask for your date of birth, address, gender
at birth, race, and ethnicity. They will never ask for your immigration status,
Social Security number, financial information, or marital status.
KIRO TV:
Washington State Department of
Health:
While this article is oriented
toward Florida, it does give a very good description of how contact tracing
works and what to look for to determine if the call is legitimate or not,
Miami Herald:
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