Authorities in Kentucky are warning against “pop-up” COVID-19 testing sites which offer people quick Coronavirus results for cash in order to steal their DNA and personal information.
Local officials said a self-proclaimed medical marketing company set up makeshift testing sites outside various churches in Louisville with workers dressed head to toe in hazmat gear. They claim the scammers charge $240 a test and steal people’s DNA and personal information.
At one site in Louisville, Kentucky, scammers dressed as doctors were offering fake coronavirus tests out of a convenience store parking lot in exchange for $240. They were also collecting credit card information and people’s social security numbers, equipping them to steal their victims’ identities.
Local authorities told the NYT that 100 people fell prey to the scheme before the scammers fled.
Metro Council President David James and Louisville advocates have been hunting down who they call fake COVID-19 testers, reported WDRB.
“It’s really Medicaid fraud, is what it actually is. There is no reason that you should spend $240 dollars for a COVID test,” James said. “And they’re using the same gloves on Person A that they used on Person B, that they used on Person C.”
The officials said the group may be from Illinois as they believe the scammers are the same people who claimed to test people’s DNA for diseases last year.
“They’re the scum of the Earth and they’re preying on the poorest of the poor, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get them the [explicit] out of Kentucky,” James said.
