Coronavirus Vaccine Scams Target Ohioans

COLUMBUS, OH — COVID-19 vaccine scams are beginning to crop up in Ohio.

Now that the vaccine has arrived in the Buckeye State, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is warning Ohioans to be cautious of anyone claiming to need personal information or money to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“A single dose of information can vaccinate you against fraud,” Yost said.

Possible scams include people impersonating health officials or doctors and claiming to need personal information, like a Social Security number, to get someone on the COVID-19 vaccination list.

Another possible scam could include con artists claiming they can help Ohioans jump to the front of the COVID-19 vaccination line in return for advanced payment.

Scams could come via email, phone call, postal mail, text messages or social media, Yost warned.

Yost also reminded Ohioans that while cards may be distributed to patients who have received the first of a two-dose vaccine, those cards are not to be used as "passports" to get into bars, restaurants or other public areas while bypassing public health orders. Any attempt to buy such a card would be useless, Yost's office said.

When the COVID-19 lockdown started in March, scammers started emailing Ohioans to try and steal their identity. Commons scams included access to COVID-19 vaccine trials, early access to stimulus checks and more.

As of Tuesday, the Ohio Attorney General's office has already been made aware of 39 attempted COVID-19 vaccine scams.

Yost's office sent the following tips for Ohioans:

• Verify any vaccine-related information with legitimate news reports. Double-check any new “too-good-to-be-true” news or claims. You may wish to consider contacting your family doctor, your local health department or the statewide Ohio Department of Health’s COVID-19 call center (1-833-427-5634) to check on issues you are unsure about.
• Look for some of the red flags of a scam, such as being asked to wire money or send a prepaid money card or gift card to a stranger; being pressured to act immediately; or being told to buy a product or service where the company refuses to provide any information in writing. Also look out if you’re asked to keep conversations a secret.
• You likely will not need to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine during this public health emergency. You can’t pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine. You can’t pay to get early access to the vaccine.
• No one from a vaccine distribution site or health care payer, like a private insurance company, will call you asking for your Social Security number or your credit card or bank account information to sign you up to get the vaccine.

The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Ohio on Monday. Frontline health care workers are among the first Ohioans being vaccinated against the virus.