VDH encourages Virginians to engage with contact tracers while avoiding scams
RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) -- The Virginia Department of Health is encouraging all Virginians to engage with legitimate contact tracing calls while remaining vigilant against potential scams.
Virginia has employed contact tracers to notify people who may have been exposed to confirmed cases of COVID-19. Legitimate contact tracers will offer information, encourage individuals to monitor themselves for potential symptoms and refer those who develop symptoms to seek out medical evaluation and testing to help contain the spread of coronavirus in Virginia.
If you are contacted by contact tracer with the VDH, your caller ID will read “VDH COVID Team.”
Contact tracers will offer to enroll Virginians in a voluntary contact monitoring platform called Sara Alert. The Sara Alert system is secure and will always contact users from the same phone number or email, 844-957-2721 or notifications@saraalert.org.
While giving contact tracers information is vital to preventing the spread of COVID-19, it is important that Virginians do not give information to fake contact tracers. Some tips to identify contact tracer scams are if you are asked for money or personal information such as your social security number. The VDH does not charge individuals for contact tracing services.
In addition to being vigilant, there are several other ways to stay safe from scams:
- Use multi-factor authentication for online accounts;
- Enable auto-updates for the operating systems and apps on your electronic devices to ensure you have the latest security;
- And back up the data on your devices regularly, so you won’t lose valuable information if a device gets malware or ransomware
