HOUSTON – Once again, thieves have thought of a new trick to steal your money. This time scammers are using information about COVID vaccines to try and rip you off.
The Federal Trade Commission sent out a warning that any COVID vaccine survey you get may not be real. Scammers are sending out emails and texts to people asking them to fill out a survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. (Johnson and Johnson will probably be next.) This is happening all across the country.
Are COVID survey emails real?
The messages look legit. They have the company logos and emails that look like they could be real.
In exchange for taking the survey people are offered a free reward but asked to pay shipping fees. The FTC says no legitimate surveys ask for your credit card or the bank account number to “pay” for a free reward.
In an effort to look more legit, some of these websites even have what looks like customer reviews about how wonderful the gifts were.
What to do if you get a COVID vaccine survey message
If you get an email or text that you think might be a scam, stop and take a look very carefully. Delete the message and do NOT open any links or attachments. Doing so could install harmful malware on your device that will then steal your personal information.
Often, the scam messages have spelling mistakes or strange web addresses. If your gut tells you something is off about a message, go with your instinct.
If you get a scam message you should report it to the FTC. You will find an easy-to-use form at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
