You sign up for a vaccine, head in and get vaccinated. Then you receive a survey request after. It seems legit. After all, the companies do want to know how your experience went or if anything unexpected happens right?
Wrong.
Unless you are part of a clinical trial--you just fell prey to to a vaccine fraud case. Just one scenario of thousands bad actors are deploying to take advantage of the fear, anxiety and demand that still outpaces supply.
“Anytime there's a huge demand and a limited supply, unfortunately, criminals take advantage of that.,” Mike Alfonso, assistant special agent in-charge at Homeland Security Investigations - an arm of ICE and the agent coordinating the intellectual property rights center... COVID-19 vaccine investigations explains in this week’s episode of “Track the Vax.”
“it's text messages and emails that are going out to consumers that say you received the vaccine, for research purposes, please fill out this survey,” he said. “And as a prize, we'll give you an iPad or we'll give you a $90 cash or a thousand dollars cash. We've seen them related to Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson. I want the public to be aware that those are frauds! Do not fill out those surveys, do not click on those links. They are not true.
“None of those three companies have accurate or real surveys.”
With the U.S. still going through the largest mass-vaccination campaign in history, it was just a matter of time before those fraudsters started targeting the vaccinated.
And while vaccine fraud includes those trying to steal personal information from your ‘covid- vax- card’ selfies, luckily, so far, the supply chain has been secure.
“We have seen an uptick in some counterfeits overseas, but I want to let you know, Serena, the supply chain in the United States for the vaccine is very secure. I've seen no counterfeit vaccines in the United States to date.”
He also addresses in this episode:
- Why even blocking out your name and ID information still doesn’t make sharing that selfie a good idea.
- How they prepared before the vaccine rollout to counter the bad guys.
- THe ways in which this security operation differs from those in the past.
If you think that you've been subjected to an illicit criminal activity or a fraudulent vaccine scheme, you can Email DHS: covid19fraud@dhs.gov
Listen along with us on: Apple Podcasts , Spotify, or wherever you listen
