Better Business Bureau Issues Warning About Rise In COVID Testing Scams, Potential Free At-Home Test Kit Scams
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Better Business Bureau is warning about a rise in COVID testing scams with New Yorkers who claim they gave up personal information to get tested but never saw the results.
Stella Deng went to get a COVID test at Elmhurst Hospital on Dec. 31.
"But they closed early, so I decided to do one of the vans that were parked across the street," she told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
She got in line at the van, which advertised it was with Deshi Senior Center and promised results in two days.
They handed Deng a form to fill out, asking for her name, address, insurance information and ID.
"They took a picture of our ID," Deng said. "So because it was in proximity to the hospital, I thought it would've been, you know, a trustworthy place."
But the days passed and Deng never got her results.
"They never responded to my text when I reached out to them and they did not answer their phone call, and we, to this day, have not gotten our results back," she said.
She's not alone. There are dozens of Google reviews for the Deshi Senior Center van detailing similar experiences.
One says, "Either they lost the tests, lost the results or scammed me for my info. Another person said he never got results but did get billed by his insurance the very same day.
"That was kind of the height of when the lines were long and people were desperate for tests," Bauman said.
"Yes, exactly," Deng said. "It just seems like a lot of people that week may have unknowingly given up a lot of their information and never got their results back."
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CBS2 has not found evidence that anybody's personal information was compromised, but the BBB is monitoring the complaints against Deshi. The BBB says you should never have to hand over your personal information for a free COVID test.
"If there's a pop-up site that's asking you for information that they don't need, there's a good bet that they're trying to piece together an identity for identity theft," said Claire Rosenzweig, president and CEO of the BBB Metro NY.
The van hasn't been back outside Elmhurst Hospital in a while, so Bauman went to Deshi Senior Center in Ozone Park and spoke to licensed practical nurse Paula Corletto.
"Is this one of your vans?" Bauman asked, showing Corletto a photo of the van Deng went to.
"Yes," Corletto said.
"Because we were talking to people who think it's a scam because they haven't heard back from their test results," Bauman said.
"A few people have, a very small percentage of people haven't gotten their test results because it was a high volume of people coming in to do the tests," Corletto said.
Rosenzweig says you do not need to provide a social security number, driver's license or insurance card to get a free COVID test.
"If they're asking you for these things, I would walk away," she said.
"Why were you asking for insurance information and photo copies of people's IDs?" Bauman asked Corletto.
"We need to make sure that it's actually you ... We welcome anyone. Whether you have insurance or you don't, we'll test you," Corletto said.
"But why even bother asking for the insurance?" Bauman asked.
"It's just, uh... I don't know," Corletto said.
Deshi Senior Center told CBS2 the information it collects is only going to its lab partners and says anyone who didn't get results can come back for another test.
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The BBB recommends before going to any pop-up test site, search for it on their website or the state health department's.
The bureau adds while the lines for COVID tests are now waning, experts are anticipating a new scam on the horizon taking advantage of the federal government offering free at-home test kits.
"You might have scammers who are gonna set up lookalike, soundalike-type websites," Rosenzweig said.
Data scientists are already starting to find copycat domains with some redirecting to ads and others soliciting personal information.
So how can you tell the difference between the real deal and the frauds?
"They have at the end dot gov. They're government websites. Government websites are very difficult to get, so those will be legitimate," fraud expert William Kresse said.
If you fear you've fallen prey to an identity theft scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commission.
