Justice Department warns about fake post-vaccine survey scams
The U.S. Justice Department is warning that post-vaccine surveys that promise cash prizes are fraudulent and designed to unlawfully capture consumers’ personal information and steal their money.
Consumers receive the surveys via email and text message, and are told that if they fill out the survey, they can choose among various prizes, such as an iPad Pro. The messages claim that the consumers only have to pay for shipping and handling in order to receive their prize. Victims provide their credit card information and are charged for shipping and handling, but never receive the promised prize.
Schemes that use links embedded in unsolicited text or email messages in attempts to obtain personally identifiable information are commonly referred to as phishing schemes. Phishing messages may look like they come from government agencies, financial institutions, shipping companies, and others.
Anyone receiving a text message or email claiming to be a COVID-19 vaccine survey with a link or contact information should contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web complaint form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fund. These types of crimes can also be reported to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center at www.IPRCenter.gov.