Be wary of callers from 1-800 or 1-888 phone numbers who claim to be Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
On Wednesday, WDG Public Health said it has been receiving reports of a scam targeting seniors in the region where the caller identifies themselves as an employee of the organization and offers a free medical alert necklace in exchange for the recipient’s personal information.
Public Health spokesperson Danny Williamson said WDG Public Health began hearing about the scam calls on Friday and is unaware if anyone fell for the scam.
“The public should be wary of any call claiming to be offering free products from WDG Public Health,” said Williamson. Adding that at the present time, WDG Public Health is only contacting community members regarding vaccination appointments.
This is not the first time WDG Public Health had to issue an alert regarding a scam during the pandemic.
Last year, the public health unit warned people of fake ‘face mask medical exemption cards’ that were circulating in the community.
“The reality here is that WDG Public Health is trying to make sure people are protected from the pandemic and people are getting their flu shots, you know, important things to keep people safe. So it's really unfortunate that someone would try to target people using WDG Public Health’s name and put people's personal information or their financial information at risk,” said Williamson.
“During a time where we're all supposed to be pulling in the same direction here to try and get out of the pandemic, it is really unfortunate that someone would choose to take advantage of people in that way.”
