Attorney general warns of vaccine scams

CONCORD — As the pandemic nears its ninth month, people are desperate for the COVID-19 vaccine – and scammers have taken notice.

State Attorney General, Gordon MacDonald warned Granite Staters to be wary of calls or emails offering the vaccine in an email last week.

“If the offer appears too good to be true, it probably is,” the email read.

Any caller that asks for personal information or money in exchange for the COVID-19 vaccine is not from the state, he said.

Local news outlets in Texas and New York have reported stories of callers charging to be put on a vaccine waiting list and robocalls offering early doses of the vaccine for $79.99. Scammers have even targeted care facilities, posing as pharmaceutical representatives.

As of Monday, there have been no reported instances of a vaccine scam in New Hampshire.

The U.S Office of Inspector General issued a similar fraud alert as these reports emerged.

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In New Hampshire, the first doses of the vaccine are currently being distributed to health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, and first responders. Vaccines likely won’t be available to the general public until the spring. When the state is ready to distribute doses, MacDonald said, officials will never ask for payment to reserve a vaccine or to schedule an appointment; personal information; or cash, money orders or gift cards. The vaccine will be free to all Granite Staters regardless of whether they have insurance.

Anyone who receives a call offering the vaccine in exchange for payment or personal information should immediately hang up, MacDonald said. If the offer comes in the form of an email, people should not click on any attachments, he said.

He said you can also determine legitimacy by looking at the details of the message – emails that link to websites with no details about who is running the company, where the company is based, and how to contact the company is likely a scam. Furthermore, scammers often use wire services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.

Granite Staters can contact their health care or insurance providers for details about how and when they can expect to receive their vaccine.

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These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.