Health officials warn of scammers

Advances in technology and the prevalance of COVID-19 are augmeting the ability of criminals to take advantage of people. There are numerous ways scammers can get ahold of vital information and money from unsuspecting victims. The confusion caused by the spread of COVID-19 gives these scammers a perfect platform to pose as officials, charities or anything that they can think of to get what they want. It is important for locals to beware of the types of scams and to use common sense to avoid becoming a victim.

One such way that is becoming more common goes as follows. A victim receives a call and is informed that they have been in close proximity to a positive case of COVID-19. The victim is then told that they need to self-quarantine for a certain amount of time and to seek testing. The scammer will then insist that the victim needs to give their address, social security or checking account information to pay for a test to be mailed to them. The situation sounds valid up to a point. Health and government officials use contact tracing, where they contact by phone those who may have been in close proximity to someone who has tested positive. These calls, however, will only be made by the local public health department, according to Lisa Eberhardt, chief nurse at Clark Fork Valley Hospital.

Eberhardt helps the hospital deal with any cases that come through the door and says that Sanders County Public Health will never contact anyone through mail for personal information. Any time a letter comes asking for money, locals can be confident about throwing it in the trash, she added.

Karen Morey, Public Health Director for Sanders County, explained that the process of contact tracing follows a specific protocol. With this in mind, scammers can often be detected simply by understanding these procedures. If the opportunist deviates from this or asks for specific payment or personal information, then they are likely illegitimate, Morey said.

The first step when a case is discovered is for Public Health to contact that person and tell them to isolate for 10 days, Morey said. Then Public Health will start to reach out to anyone that person may have been in contact with recently. The contacts are then asked by Public Health to quarantine for 14 days, monitoring their temperature and potentional symptoms. Health officials will work to connect contacts with services they may need during quarantine.

Morey said individuals identified through contact tracing are never asked for information such as credit cards and the only thing mailed out to contacts and those with a confirmed case of COVID-19 is information on isolation and quarantine.

Those who are asked to get tested will be sent to specific testing appointments, generally at the local hospital. There is no payment over the phone. Insurance providers will be billed, if applicable, and according to Eberhardt there is generally no co-pay with most insurance companies. With Medicaid or Medicare, there is no cost.

An appointment can last as little at 15 minutes and results will be returned within six days. The most common type of test being done is the PCR test, which is a nasopharyngeal swab, taken through the nasal cavity. Eberhardt says that this test has a 85% to 95% accuracy rate and is improving.

“What really is effective is simple social distancing and wearing a mask,” added Eberhardt.

Morey suggested that if a resident receives a suspicious call, they should get the caller’s name and contact the Sanders County Public Health Department or local law enforcement to find out of a call is legitimate.

According to Thompson Falls Police Chief Chris Nichols, “Nobody that is legitimate will ask for money over the phone.” He explained that “They will send you a bill that is easily traceable.” Nichols said scammers often target the elderly. “Never give out money or information over the phone,” he added.

The Federal Communications Commission warns that scammers may attempt to falsely advertise cures or treatments, use local area numbers or even send out fake texts. They advise several ways to avoid becoming victims to these scams by not responding to unknown texts or calls; by never sharing personal information over the phone or email; by immediately becoming cautious of a caller pressuring for financial or personal information; by not clicking on any stray links attached to spam emails or texts and; by being suspicious of strange links sent by friends on Facebook or through email as they may have been hacked.

Sanders County Public Health can be reached at (406) 827-6931.