People who had contact with someone infected with COVID-19 may receive a text message from the Department of Health, telling them they'll get a call from a specific number. The tracer who calls will not ask for personal information, like a Social Security number. At the end of the call, some may ask if the contact would like to enroll in a text message program, which sends daily health and safety reminders until the 14-day quarantine ends. But tracers won't ask for money or other personal information like your bank account or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer.
Scammers, pretending to be contact tracers and taking advantage of how the process works, are also sending text messages. These scam messages ask the receiver to click a link. Please alert your employees, and tell them not to take the bait. Clicking the link will download software giving scammers access to personal information.
Click here to read the Federal Trade Commission's notice about the text message scam and get more information on filtering unwanted text messages.
