Around the same time people started to get vaccinated for Covid-19, the Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection started hearing about vaccine scams. The goal of these scammers is to steal the victim’s money, identity and personal, confidential information.

“We like to say that ‘criminals follow headlines,’ and we find that most of the scam tricks being used are similar to prior scams, but they just keep changing the script based on headlines,” said Jim Maisano, director of the county’s consumer protection department. “That’s why we are seeing the vaccine scams now.” 

The department has used social media and news blasts to inform the public about the scams and how to avoid them. 

“We recognize that the process of getting the vaccine is already difficult and emotional for people, and we needed to get the message out so they didn’t have to worry with scams too,” said Maisano. 

How do consumers know if they are getting scammed? One, if the voice on the call is a robocaller. Two, if the caller asks for money or pressures for information. Three, the scammers tend to pretend that they are calling from a government agency. Remember, there is no way to skip the line for vaccines. 

For more information, visit this post on avoiding scams or view the notice here.