The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is urging residents to be on the lookout for potential scams involving COVID-19 products and practices.
In a recent Facebook posting, MCSO shared a message from the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County which encourages residents to be cautious of the following:
- Unexpected phone calls or visitors offering COVID-19 tests or supplies.
- Offers or advertisements for COVID-19 testing on social media sites.
- Street vendors offering at-home testing kits.
- Individuals going door-to-door to sell at-home testing kits.
- Questionable links from unverified sources that offer COVID-19 testing options.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has seen unauthorized fraudulent COVID-19 test kits that are being sold online.
Residents can visit the Florida COVID-19 Response webpage for information on COVID-19 testing and locations, and to verify that a testing location is legitimate.
To report any suspected fraudulent activity or scams, FDHPC encourages residents to use the following resources:
- Complaints about fraudulent activity related to COVID-19 testing can be reported on the State of Florida Attorney General webpage or by calling 1-866-966-7226.
- Complaints about laboratories associated with COVID-19 testing sites can be reported to the Agency for Health Care Administration via email (CAU@AHCA.MyFlorida.com).
- Suspected COVID-19 health care fraud can be reported on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General webpage or by calling 1-800-447-8477.
- Suspected illegal activity relating to FDA-regulated products, including fraudulent COVID-19 treatments, vaccines, and tests can be reported on the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations webpage.
For more information on COVID-19, visit the Florida Department of Health in Marion County and Marion County COVID-19 webpages.