Jonathan Liebert - January 17, 2022 - KRDO’s Morning News

This winter’s spike in COVID-19 cases has more people than ever looking for tests. This has given rise to a new con:phony websites and suspicious in-person testing sites used to collect personal and insurance information. 

How the scam works: Several websites appear after an online search for a COVID-19 testing site in your area, and a testing clinic affiliated with a local pharmacy or a pop-up run by a local group is selected.

In one version of this scam, you arrive at the testing site and are asked to complete a form with personal information, your driver’s license and medical insurance cards are photographed. Then, a swab is done and a promise is made that test results will arrive within a short time. Unfortunately, the test is a fake and the results never arrive. It was an excuse to get your information.

In another version of this con, you complete an online appointment form with personal, insurance, and medical information. In some cases, a small fee is paid. But, on the day of the appointment, the pharmacy has no record of your reservation. Again, the phony form was a way of phishing for personal information.

One victim reported to BBB Scam Tracker this experience at a phony testing site: “Not until I got home did I realize I provided WAY too much personal information… They used a swab of saliva and said I would be notified by email within 24 hours. It has now been 2 weeks no results, and they are still there doing covid tests.