Boulder County Sounds Alarm On Phony COVID-19 Contact Tracers
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Boulder County Public Health officials are warning residents about a new scam: crooks posing as COVID-19 contact tracers.
"We do know it was two people who came to the door of a residence in the town of Superior, and they started asking some questions and making some statements that the resident felt uncomfortable with," said Boulder County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer, Carrie Haverfield.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office says contact tracers will never go door-to-door.
"Legitimate public health officials are going to contact you via phone, email, or letter, and they will already have some basic information about you. If they start asking you for a lot more identifying information that would be a red flag," Haverfield said. "If someone comes to your home and says that they're out doing contact tracing, and they're looking for a fee or a payment, that is not legitimate."
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, law enforcement officials have another threat to consider.
"It's always unfortunate when we see scammers out there taking advantage of a situation. Unfortunately, we see this anytime there's some major incident," said Haverfield. "We just want residents to be safe. We don't want anyone to fall victim."
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office says there should never be a charge for contact tracing. They say the best way to get current information about COVID-19 cases, testing, or tracing, is to contact your county's public health department directly.
If you think you might be the victim of a contact tracing scam, the sheriff's office encourages you to contact your local law enforcement agency.
