Coronavirus vaccination scam calls reported in Bay and Saginaw counties – MLive.com

BAY CITY, MI - Phone scammers have been trying to take advantage of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Bay and Saginaw counties.

Residents in both counties have been receiving phone calls that try to get personal and sensitive information out of potential victims while pretending to be local health authorities.

Theyre asking people for social security numbers, bank account numbers nonsense that we would never ask anyone, said Bay County Health Department health officer Joel Strasz.

The Saginaw County Health Department also issued a statement on social media alerting the community about several calls it received about an imposter trying to get info out of residents.

The Saginaw County Health Department has received several calls today about someone posing as the health department, attempting to schedule for clinics, but asking for Medicare/Medicaid eligibility and other personal information. This is a scam, the department said in a statement. The health department and MDHHS will never ask for personal information other than confirmation of your name and age.

Strasz said that there are a few things to look for that can help you identify whats a legitimate call, such as making sure that the person identifies themselves as from the health department or the state.

They are not going to ask questions for social security numbers, theyre not going to ask questions for bank accounts, we make it pretty clear that theres no out-of-pocket expenses on this, he said. We might ask for insurance information, but most often if people have registered theyve already provided that information to us so we just confirm that with them.

Strasz added, You generally know from the conversation youre going to have whether or not its legitimate, and as the conversation goes if people start asking you for credit card information or bank account information, it is not a legitimate call.

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Coronavirus vaccination scam calls reported in Bay and Saginaw counties - MLive.com