Scammers are using a new trick to steal your money and personal information: a bogus COVID vaccine survey.
People across the country are reporting getting emails and texts out of the blue, asking them to complete a limited-time survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. (And no doubt, there may be one for Johnson & Johnson, too.) In exchange, people are offered a free reward, but asked to pay shipping fees.
If you get an email or text like this, STOP. It’s a scam.
No legitimate surveys ask for your credit card or bank account number to pay for a “free” reward.
If you get an email or text you’re not sure about:
- Don’t click on any links or open attachments. Doing so could install harmful malware that steals your personal information without you realizing it.
- Don’t call or use the number in the email or text. If you want to call the company that supposedly sent the message, look up its phone number online.
Remember:
- Don’t give your bank account, credit card, or personal information to someone who contacts you out of the blue.
- You can filter unwanted text messages on your phone, through your wireless provider, or with a call-blocking app.
- If you get an email or text that asks for your personal information and you think it could be a scam, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
To learn more about COVID-related frauds and scams, visit ftc.gov/coronavirus/scams.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to As a resident service by Resident Servi…
Thanks so much for your comment and for sharing this information with others. We designed these blogs & articles to be easy to print. When you have a printer connected to your computer, pull up the blog you want to print, and enter a print command. The blog be printed nicely formatted and easy to read.
We also have lots of free brochures and bookmarks that you can order and distribute. You'll find those at bulkorder.ftc.gov. We have a suite of print and online fraud prevention information for older adults in the Pass It On campaign, with articles on 13 common fraud topics.
In reply to Thanks so much for your by FTC Staff
In reply to As a resident service by Resident Servi…
In reply to I tried to send my emails to by Don't use your…
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is not an email address.
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is a website where you can report fraud. If you click on the blue highlighted words, you will be connected to the website and you can report fraud. Or, you can type ReportFraud.ftc.gov into the search bar of your computer and go to the website.
In reply to I have been completing a by Gary B.
Yes, that is a legitimate survey run by the CDC. It's a vaccination health check that people can do on their phones. You use your smartphone to tell CDC about any side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. You’ll also get reminders if you need a second vaccine dose.
In reply to I got my first covid shot by sdfrenchie
In reply to I got my first covid shot by sdfrenchie
In reply to Glad you were able to cancel by carolinakit