The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services of the Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are warning the public about various schemes of emerging fraud related to COVID-19 vaccines. .
The FBI, HHS-OIG, and CMS have received complaints from scammers using public interest in COVID-19 vaccines to obtain personally identifiable information (PII) and money through various schemes. We continue to work diligently with law enforcement and private sector partners to identify cyber threats and fraud anyway.
The public should be aware of the following potential indicators of fraudulent activity:
- Announcements or offers of early access to a vaccine upon payment of a deposit or fee
- Requests to ask you to pay out of pocket to get the vaccine or to put your name on the COVID-19 vaccine waiting list
- It offers to undergo additional medical tests or procedures when obtaining a vaccine
- Marketers who offer to sell and / or send doses of a vaccine, nationally or internationally, in exchange for the payment of a deposit or commission
- Unsolicited email, phone calls, or personal contact from someone who claims to come from a medical office, insurance company, or COVID-19 vaccine center requesting personal information and / or information or physician to determine the eligibility of recipients to participate in clinical trials of vaccines or to obtain the vaccine
- FDA approval claims for an unverifiable vaccine
- Vaccine announcements via social media platforms, email, phone calls, online, or unsolicited / unknown sources
- People who contact you in person, by phone, or by email to inform you that government or government officials require you to receive a COVID-19 vaccine
Tips to avoid fraud related to COVID-19 vaccine:
- Check your state health department’s website for up-to-date information on authorized vaccine distribution channels and only get one vaccine through those channels.
- See the FDA website (fda.gov) for up-to-date information on emergency vaccine use authorizations.
- Consult your primary care physician before getting vaccinated.
- Do not share your personal or health information with anyone other than known and trusted medical professionals.
- Check your medical bills and explanation of insurance benefits (EOB) for any suspicious claims and report your errors to your health insurance provider immediately.
- Follow the guidelines and recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other trusted medical professionals.
General techniques for preventing online and cyber fraud:
- Check the spelling of web addresses, websites, and email addresses that appear unreliable but may be imitations of legitimate websites.
- Make sure your operating systems and applications are up to date with the latest versions.
- Update your antimalware and antivirus software and perform periodic network scans.
- Do not enable macros on downloaded documents from an email unless necessary and after making sure the file is not malicious.
- Do not communicate or open emails, attachments or links from strangers.
- Never provide personal information of any kind by email; Please note that many emails requesting your personal information may appear legitimate.
- If possible, use strong two-factor authentication using biometrics, hardware tokens, or authentication applications.
- Disable or remove software applications that you do not need.
If you believe you have been the victim of COVID-19 fraud, report it immediately to the FBI (ic3.gov, tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI) or HHS OIG (tips.hhs.gov or 1-800-HHS-TIPS).
See related brochure (pdf)