DILG to public: Report cases of bogus COVID-19 contact tracers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday encouraged the public to report to authorities cases of scammers posing as contact tracers.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año warned that these scammers will usually call households and tell their victims that they have been exposed to a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient. They reportedly will then ask for money from their victims, saying the amount will be needed for test kits.

“Inuulit ko po, hinding-hindi po hihingi ng pera ang mga contact tracing teams (I repeat, we are not asking for money.) for their task is to track down and manage close contacts, reduce the spread of infection, and offer diagnostic, counseling and treatment to confirmed COVID-19 cases.  ‘Yun lamang po (That’s all),” he said in a statement.

The DILG chief urged the public to report these suspicious calls to the nearest police station or call the DILG hotline 911 and the DILG-Public Assistance and Complaint Center at 8925-0343.

The Department of Health also reminded the public that should they encounter scammers, they should not reveal personal information and end the call.

The DOH said the public should take note of the number and block it, and report the incident to the DOH’s Call Center Hotline through telephone number (632) 8651-7800 local 5003-5004 or email [email protected].

/MUF