Cumb. Co. Sheriff's Office Warns Of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Text Message SCAMS

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department is warning the public about COVID-19 contact tracing phone and text message scams. Contact tracing is the process of identifying people who have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, instructing them to quarantine and monitoring their symptoms daily. Contact tracers work with an infected person to get the names and phone numbers for everyone that infected person came in close contact with while the possibly infectious. Those names and phone numbers are often kept in an online system. People who had contact with someone infected with COVID-19 may first get a text message from the health department, 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 states 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 Will Not ask you for money or information like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer. Another scam is a text message that asks you to click on a link. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK. Clicking on the link will download software onto your device, giving scammers access to your personal and financial information. Ignore and delete these scam messages. If you still have questions contact your local or state health department.