Experts are asking people to stop sharing their COVID-19 vaccination cards online
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
The Better Business Bureau is warning people against sharing photos of their COVID-19 vaccination cards online, saying it's an easy way for scammers to steal identities.
"When you release a photo of that card, it has your personal, identifiable information," Sandra Guile, director of communications for the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, told Good Morning America. "It's got your date of birth and your first and last name. With that information, there are some unsavory individuals out there that are going to take that and they're going to try to open up credit cards, buy cell phones, go shopping online."
Scam artists in the United Kingdom have also used photos to create fake vaccination cards that they turn around and sell. "The best thing for people to do right now is to treat their personal information like cash, protect it," Guile said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Public health officials want people to post online about getting the vaccine, in order to spread the word and show others it's safe. Guile suggests instead of sharing a photo of a vaccination card, take a picture right after receiving the shot and post that — and also, check the security settings to ensure only friends and family can see it. Additionally, people should not give any personal information or money to anyone calling or sending text messages promising to help them get a COVID-19 vaccine. "Just ignore it and delete it," Guile said.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
