COVID vaccine survey might be a scam, watchdog warns. What to know before clicking
Con artists are putting a pandemic-related spin on a common survey scam aimed at getting to your money, according to a watchdog group.
The Better Business Bureau is warning people to be wary of text and email surveys purporting to be about the COVID-19 vaccine. Though phony, the questionnaires look real and claim to be from reputable pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna.
The ruse usually begins with an email or text message that includes a link to questions about the coronavirus vaccine and promises of cash or a “free gift” for completing the survey, the BBB warns. In other versions, the link leads to a real survey but asks you to sign up for a “free trial offer.”
Experts say your best bet is not to click on the link at all.
“Victims reported to BBB Scam Tracker that they entered their credit card information to pay what they thought was a shipping fee,” the watchdog group said. “Instead, the scammers billed them many times more and never sent the product.”
One victim said they were offered $90 to fill out a vaccine survey reportedly from Pfizer, according to the Scam Tracker. Another person described getting a similar offer via email one day after getting their first dose of the vaccine.
“Received an email the day after getting 1st vaccine shots asking to take a survey to help with distribution,” the Scam Tracker report reads. “In exchange receive reward only pay for shipping which ranged from$2.99-$19.99. Ultimately charged my card $39.99 for a worthless raffle!”
To avoid getting scammed, experts advise against clicking on unsolicited emails. Messages that claim to have information about you even though you never signed up for them should also raise suspicion, the BBB said.
Consumers should look out for typos and grammatical errors in the messages, and hover their cursor over URLs to make sure they will actually send you to a reputable business’ website.
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 3:33 PM.