California's health department says scammers are posing as its staff by phone, using fake prescription claims and fake police to pull out your personal details.
Scammers are calling people in California and pretending to work for the California Department of Public Health, known as CDPH. The agency says it has had multiple reports. The callers want sensitive personal and financial information, and the same kind of scam has been seen across the country.
A common story is that a prescription was filled in your name. The caller says you must act right away to "clear your record" by giving or "verifying" personal information. Some victims were then moved to a video call with someone posing as a police officer. That person wore a fake uniform and sat in a made-up recording room.
The callers often work as a team. They mention real CDPH names, badge numbers or phone lines to seem legitimate. They also spoof CDPH phone numbers, which means they fake what appears on your caller ID.
The scam runs on pressure. Callers threaten legal trouble or canceled prescriptions so you act before you think. They may ask for dates of birth or driver's license numbers. Some tell victims to download encrypted apps for video calls, or try to get into personal devices. Some have pointed people to meet at a Sacramento address. In some cases the calls repeat and the texts turn threatening.
CDPH does sometimes contact people for real public health reasons, such as disease investigations and contact tracing. Those contacts never involve Social Security numbers, credit card information, payment or data unrelated to health. CDPH Director Dr. Erica Pan said staff would never ask for personal financial information of any kind over the phone.
The alert box above lists the steps, including who to call and where to report. The main idea is simple: do not trust caller ID or badge numbers. End the call and check through a number you look up yourself. No count of victims or losses was given.
If a caller claiming to be a health official asks for your Social Security number, card number or payment, hang up and verify on your own.
Scammers are emailing Humboldt County well permit applicants and demanding $5,960 before a permit is issued. The county says the fee is fake.
Read more: Fake County Emails Demand $5,960 Fee for Well PermitsCallers posing as the Sheriff's Office told a Sarasota County woman she missed jury duty. She lost over $40,000, and the same scam is hitting others.
Read more: Fake jury duty calls cost one Florida woman over $40,000Europol warns that scam callers can fake the number on your screen, so the safest move is to hang up and call back using a number you found yourself.
Read more: Got a suspicious call? Hang up and look up the number yourself
