Pasadenans Warned of Scammers Posing as Public Health Officials
Scammers pretend to be public health officials to collect personal and financial information from residents. Local officials issued the warning after the California Department of Public Health received many reports of this pattern.
How it works
Someone contacts you while claiming to work for a public health agency. They use that official-sounding role to build trust, then ask for sensitive personal and financial details. The source does not say whether the contact arrives by phone, text, email, or in person, so treat any unsolicited health-agency contact the same way.
Red flags to watch for
- Unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be a health official
- Requests for Social Security, bank, or card numbers
- Asks for personal details the agency would not normally need
- Pressure to act or share information quickly
- Caller cannot be verified through an official agency number
What to do
Do not share personal or financial information with anyone who contacts you claiming to be a health official, and do not click links or open attachments from them. End the contact, then call the health agency directly using a phone number from its official website, not one the contact gave you. Report the attempt to your county or state health department and to reportfraud.ftc.gov.
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Source: Pasadena Now. Scam Sentinel summarizes this news report in plain language; it is a decision aid, not a guarantee.