INDIANA — In the United States, a group of companies is working on a passport app, which could be used for travel and attending large events. The Canadian government recently announced they are “actively exploring” the concept of vaccine passports for international travel.
In fact, vaccine passport apps are already in use some places. Right now, on certain flights to Hawaii, passengers can use an app to show they meet Hawaii’s negative COVID-19 test requirement. New York State launched Excelsior Pass, an app that pulls from the state’s COVID-19 vaccine registry to confirm vaccination status. Internationally, Israel has rolled out an app to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
The companies developing the passport apps hope the technology will allow industries — such as travel and events — to return to normal, while minimizing the spread of COVID-19.
However, scams are very likely to pop up as the apps roll out. Here’s what to watch out for:
• Be skeptical of any vaccine passport app that claims to be from the U.S. federal government. Right now, the U.S. federal government has no plans to create a national vaccine passport. E-mail, calls, text messages that claim the government is requiring such a passport are likely scams.
• Flying or attending an event? Check with the company directly. You may need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccine to attend an event or board a flight. As with all things related to COVID-19, policies are frequently changing. Be sure to check with your your airline, sports team, event venue etc. beforehand to get the latest details.
• Don’t buy fraudulent vaccine cards. Don’t support scammers and undermine the vaccine effort by buying a black market vaccine card. Misrepresenting yourself as vaccinated means you put yourself and others around you at risk of contracting COVID-19.
• Research carefully. If you receive an invitation to download a COVID-19 vaccine passport app, be sure to do your research before entering your personal information. Scammers are very creative, so be skeptical of anything that seems too good — or crazy — to be true. Double check any information against official news sources and company websites.
• Guard your government-issued numbers. Never offer your Medicare ID number, Social Security number, health plan information, or banking information to anyone you don’t know or trust. Don’t post your vaccine card on social media.
• Think the link may be real? Double check the URL. Scammers often buy official-looking URL domains to use in their cons. Be careful to ensure that the link destination is really what it claims to be. If the message claims to be from the government, make sure the URL ends in .gov (for the United States) or .ca (for Canada). When in doubt, perform a separate Internet search for the Web site or call the source directly.