Contact tracing can help stop the spread of COVID-19, and a contact tracer from the health department might call if you have been exposed. But scammers are pretending to be contact tracers, and residents should be wary.
Real contact tracers will not ask for money. Only scammers will insist on payment by gift card, money transfer or cryptocurrency.
No bank account information or credit card number is necessary for contact tracing, so no legitimate contact tracer will ask for either one.
Similarly, contact tracers will never ask for a Social Security number, and residents are reminded never to give out that number to anyone who contacts them.
Immigration status is of no interest to contact tracers, so if anyone claiming to be a tracer asks you about it, you can be sure it is a scam.
Finally, residents are reminded not to click on a link in a text or email allegedly from a contact tracer, as doing so can download malware onto your device.
Potential scams should be reported to state authorities as well as ftc.gov/complaint.