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FBI warns of vaccine scams
The FBI has issued a warning about COVID-19 vaccine scams.
ATLANTA - A metro Atlanta doctor said two of his patients have already been targeted by scammers, claiming to sell the COVID-19 vaccine. The FBI has issued a warning about these types of schemes that are circulating on multiple platforms, including social media.
Investigators said the schemes vary but most of them are after money and/or personal information.
FOX 5 spoke to one healthcare provider who said two of his patients received suspicious letters in the mail.
"There was no company associated with it, just Venmo and PayPal," said Dr. Amar Mohan. "It read, ‘Pay us and we’ll send you the vaccine.’"
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Dr. Mohan said there were several red flags from the very beginning, including the fact that the vaccine had not yet arrived in Georgia.
"We told them, it was probably not legitimate," said Dr. Mohan. "There was no information regarding office addresses or legitimate phone numbers. We called it and it went nowhere."
Right now, the vaccine is only being administered by certain health groups and organizations that have been authorized and approved by the Georgia Department of Public Health.
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The vaccine is being rolled out in four phases and authorized distributors cannot stray from the required guidelines. The process is still in phase one which includes first responders and those who are in nursing home facilities.
Health experts said anyone who claims to offer early access to the vaccine is likely an illegitimate source.
"We want to make sure that any individual out there is not just getting this vaccine off the internet or the street corner," said Dr. Mohan. "It has to be from an authorized distributor."
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