Alameda County District Attorney's Office: SCAM ALERT: BEWARE OF UNAUTHORIZED COVID TESTING SITES

Press release from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office:

Jan 25, 2022

As the demand for COVID testing increases, consumers should be wary of unauthorized “pop-up” COVID testing sites. Warning signs that a pop-up testing site may be unauthorized include:

· Asking for too much personal information, such as social security, driver’s license, and bank account numbers. Such information could be used for identity theft.

· Unsanitary conditions, including staff not wearing masks and gloves.

· Not returning test results in a timely manner. In most cases, expect antigen test results to be available in a matter of hours and PCR tests in two to three days.

In addition, pop-up sites should be able to provide the name and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification number of the laboratory used to process their tests. Certifications can be verified using the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services CLIA search tool.

This press release was produced by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.