BEWARE OF COVID-19 VACCINE SCAMS - English

February 2021

    BEWARE OF COVID-19
      VACCINE SCAMS
As the state’s consumer protection agency, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(FDACS) is warning consumers of scams surrounding availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. Joining
warnings from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), FDACS
is providing consumer tips and spreading the message to ensure Floridians can avoid these scams.

As the COVID vaccine becomes available, scammers are using this to take advantage.

 Consumers should beware of any offers to “get on the waiting list,”
“get moved up on the list,” or “expedite delivery,” or any requests for
 payment or personal information to gain access to the vaccine in any
 way, as these are some of the biggest scam concerns at this time. Offers
 involving any form of payment to gain access to a vaccine may lead to
 receipt of a fake vaccine.

Seek information from trusted sources: When seeking vaccine information, consumers should turn to
trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
their local county Department of Health office, or their physician. Avoid unverified information shared
on social media platforms.

Ignore solicitations: Do not respond to any solicitations about the vaccine, and do not give out personal
information in response to unsolicited communications of any kind — calls, texts, emails, social media,
or door-to-door visits.

Report suspected fraud: If you believe you have received a solicitation that is a scam, report it to
FDACS immediately by filing a consumer complaint. All consumer complaints will be looked into.
Call us at 1-800-HELP-FLA or 1-800-FL-AYUDA for Spanish speakers or file a complaint online at
FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

Remember these key points to protect yourself:
 • The FDA has only authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use so far: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

 • Vaccines are not available for sale anywhere on the internet

 • No one from a vaccine distributor, health care company, or private insurance company will ask for your Social Security
   number, personal credit card, or bank account information

 • The vaccine is available in extremely limited quantities, so look to trusted sources like your doctor or local health
   department for guidance

 • You can’t pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine or to get into a clinical trial — anyone offering to ship a vaccine
   to your home or provide special access to clinical trials is scamming you

 • Doses purchased with taxpayer dollars will be provided at no cost; health care providers may charge an administration
   fee and have that fee reimbursed by insurance companies, and there are means of reimbursement for uninsured patients.

EIPS ARE FOR
   PEOPLE NOT PLACES
In early January 2021, a bill funding a second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) was signed into law. In
most cases, those funds - $600 per person who qualifies – have already been sent out. If you or someone you love
lives in an assisted living facility, be aware that the EIP is intended for the individual person and not the place they
live.

With the first round of EIPs that went out in 2020, some assisted living facilities attempted to take the payments
intended for their residents, particularly those on Medicaid. It took a good bit of legal wrangling to get the funds
into the intended hands.

Hopefully, this won’t be an issue with the second round of EIPS, but just in case, here’s a reminder: If you qualify
for an EIP, it’s yours to keep. If a loved one qualifies and lives in an assisted living facility, the EIP is theirs as an
individual. The facility may not confiscate it or require a resident to sign it over, even if the resident is on Medicaid.

If you hear of a nursing home or assisted living facility requiring residents to sign over their EIPs, contact the
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 1-800-HELP-FLA or 1-800-FL-AYUDA for Spanish
speakers or file a complaint online at FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

HEALTH APPS AND YOUR
   SENSITIVE INFO
                    by Miles Plant, Attorney, Division of Advertising Practices, FTC

New health apps are popping up every day, promising to help
you track your health conditions, count your calories, manage
your medications, or predict your ovulation. These apps often
ask for some of your most sensitive personal information, like
your health history, medication list, or whether you have ever
suffered a miscarriage.

Some apps use that sensitive information only to give you services.
But others may use it for their own research, to target you with
ads, or disclose — or even sell — your data to other companies.
And, unlike your doctor, these apps may not be covered by health
privacy laws like HIPAA.

For example, Flo is a health app that functions as an ovulation calendar, period tracker, and pregnancy guide. In
a settlement announced on January 13, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that the makers of the
Flo app shared users’ personal health information with marketing and analytics companies like Facebook and
Google — even though it had promised users to keep this sensitive information private. As part of the settlement,
Flo Health, Inc. has agreed to get users’ consent before it can share their information in the future. The settlement
also requires Flo to get an outside review of the honesty of its privacy promises.

How can you avoid the risks associated with these types of health apps?
Here are some things to consider:

 • Compare privacy protections. Many competing health apps offer similar services. When choosing between
   apps, compare their privacy protections. Look for a privacy notice that explains in simple terms what health
   information the app collects from you, as well as how it uses and shares your information with other companies
   and users. If the app shares your information, does it tell you why, and does it limit what others can do with it?

 • Take control of your sensitive information. Take a look at the app’s settings to see if it gives you control over
   what health information it collects and shares. An app’s default settings often encourage sharing, so it can be
   useful to select more protective options.

 • Keep your app up to date. App updates sometimes include important fixes for privacy or security glitches.
   One of the best ways to protect your information is to keep your app (and your phone’s operating system) up
   to date.

 • Recognize the risks. What sensitive information will the app have access to? Are the app’s services worth the
   risk of someone else getting hold of that? Some companies don’t uphold their privacy promises. In this case,
   we said that even if you reviewed Flo’s privacy promises and looked at the settings, your information could still
   have been disclosed to other companies. Sharing sensitive information always carries risks, so be sure you’re
   comfortable with what you’ve shared, in case privacy promises aren’t kept.

 • Report your concerns. If you think a health app isn’t keeping up its end of the bargain, report it to FDACS
   immediately by filing a consumer complaint. All consumer complaints will be looked into. Call us at 1-800-HELP-
   FLA or 1-800-FL-AYUDA for Spanish speakers or file a complaint online at FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

CAR WRAP SCAMS
In 2020, several large companies reported that scammers were using their names to trick people into a car wrap
scam. Here’s how this scam works: scammers send emails and post on social media and job boards with messages
like “GET PAID TO DRIVE.” They offer to pay a weekly fee to anyone who will drive around with their vehicle
wrapped to advertise a well-known product.

The catch is that they are not really associated with the brand.
They just want your money. If you express an interest, they
will send you a check to deposit in your bank account with
instructions to use part of that money to pay their “decal agent”
to wrap your vehicle with their ads. They will also instruct you
to pay that decal agent with a money order, a gift card, or a cash
deposit directly into the decal agent’s bank account. These are all
forms of payment that are hard to cancel or recover.

Unfortunately, the “decal agent” is the scammer, and the check they send you to deposit is a fake. So, any funds
you use to pay for the wrap are coming out of your pocket and you don’t get to keep what’s left over because there
was nothing really there to begin with.
 • Trust your gut. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. An offer of high pay for relatively little effort or
   promises of upfront payment are red flags that an offer may be a scam.

 • Be wary of unsolicited email or social media offers. Avoid clicking on links or opening attachments from unfamiliar
   email servers or online posters.

 • Do not deposit checks and immediately withdraw funds to send to a third party. It’s never a good idea to deposit a
   check from someone you don’t know and then withdraw funds to send to a third party. Legitimate businesses will not
   ask you to pay them with gift cards.

 • Do your research. Check to make sure the business has a real-looking website and dig deep to find out how old the
   information on the site is. Look up the name of the business together with the word “fraud” or “scam.” Do a Google
   search on the name of the person listed as a contact.

If you think you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam, report it at 1-800-HELP-FLA or 1-800-FL-
AYUDA for Spanish speakers or file a complaint online at FloridaConsumerHelp.com.

ABOUT THE FDACS DIVISION OF
     CONSUMER SERVICES
FDACS is Florida’s state consumer protection agency responsible for regulating charities and
handling consumer complaints. FDACS handles more than 400,000 consumer complaints and
inquiries, oversees more than 500,000 regulated devices, entities, and products like gas pumps
and grocery scales, performs over 61,000 lab analyses on products like gasoline and brake flu-
id, performs nearly 9,000 fair ride inspections, and returned over $2.8 million to consumers
through mediations with businesses.

The Division of Food Safety monitors food from the point          The Consumer Product Safety Commission provides
of manufacturing and distribution through wholesale and            consumer product recall information as part of the
retail sales to ensure the public of safe, wholesome and        agency’s mission to protect consumers and families from
           properly represented food products.                                    hazardous products.
   CLICK THE ICON ABOVE TO SEE THE LATEST RECALLS,                 CLICK THE ICON ABOVE TO SEE THE LATEST RECALLS,
       MARKET WITHDRAWALS, & SAFETY ALERTS.                            MARKET WITHDRAWALS, & SAFETY ALERTS.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the state’s clearinghouse for consumer complaints,
protection and information. Consumers who would like information about filing a complaint against a business or
who believe fraud has taken place can visit us online at FloridaConsumerHelp.com or contact the department’s
consumer protection and information hotline by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832)
for Spanish speakers.

Follow us on Twitter - @FDACS and @NikkiFriedFL                                        FDACS-P-00030 Rev. 2/2021