FTC sends warning about fake COVID-19 testing sites

WASHINGTON D.C. — Scammers are setting up fake COVID-19 testing sites to get people to hand over money and personal information, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The FTC said the sites can look real and trick people.

Shannon Wilson said she paid $240 for a supposed COVID-19 throat swab test that she believed was legitimate at a testing site outside of a church in Louisville, Kentucky in late March.

Wilson said she later learned it was a scam and tested positive for COVID-19 with a real test the next day.

"People's lives were on the line and they didn't care,” Wilson said.

AARP said it has gotten reports of the fake testing sites at several states including Florida, Georgia and Washington.

The FTC said the scammers are taking people’s health information, financial information, social security number and more.

"I just don't know what possess people to think that it's OK to manipulate and use people and put their lives in jeopardy,” Wilson said.

The FTC is advising people to check with your local law enforcement agency if you’re unsure whether a testing site is legitimate.

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