News Flash

Fraud Alert – COVID-19 Testing Scam

The Durham Police Department wants to warn neighbors after receiving a report involving a scam about COVID-19 testing. 

A man was reportedly going door to door in a Northern Durham neighborhood asking residents for personal information. He said he needed the information in order for them to get COVID-19 testing at the Durham Police Department. 

We would like to make the public aware that the Durham Police Department is not doing any such testing, nor would we go door to door and ask for information for testing.

The suspect was described as a white male who got into a white Nissan occupied by several people.

We ask that everyone be vigilant and follow the below fraud prevention tips.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe and informed. 

For information about COVID-19, please go to the Durham County Public Health Department -https://www.dcopublichealth.org/

Please share these fraud prevention tips provided by the investigators from the Durham Police Department’s Fraud Unit

COVID-19 Vaccine Scam: Scammers may be targeting citizens asking them to send money in order to reserve a COVID-19 vaccine and/or testing. If you’re asked to wire money, provide a money order or load a prepaid/gift card to pay to reserve a COVID-19 vaccine and/or testing, it is not legitimate.

Tips to Avoid These Scams

• Never provide personal information in response to an unsolicited request, whether it is over the phone or internet. A trusted company will never ask a customer for highly sensitive information during a call they initiated. A financial institution may ask for the account holder’s partial Social Security Number for verification, but they will never ask for the entire Social Security Number, account number or PIN.
• Do not respond to any suspicious looking email, automated calls, or text messages.
• Don’t trust the Caller ID. Fraudsters can manipulate the Caller ID to have it display a legitimate business’s name. To be safe, you can check to see if the phone number matches the number that appears on your bank statement, credit/debit card, or on their official website.
• Avoid fraudulent sites by entering web addresses directly into the browser yourself or by using bookmarks you create. Do not click on links in emails that you did not directly request from a company or that look suspicious.
• If you have fallen victim to such a scam, contact your financial institution immediately to protect your accounts. 

Don’t respond or reply to an email, phone call, or text message that:

• Requires you to supply personal or account information directly in the email.
• Requires you to click on a link to provide more personal or account information.
• Threatens to close or suspend your account if you do not take immediate action.
• Invites you to answer a survey that asks you to enter personal or account information.