Too much information: don’t share vaccine cards images on social media

 Too much information: don’t share vaccine cards images on social media

By Megan Frank

Feburary 15, 2021

More than 1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Pennsylvania so far. To celebrate the hard-won milestones, some social media users have been sharing photos of their vaccination cards. 

But, consumer advocates say that could make them vulnerable to identity theft. 

COVID-19 vaccination cards have the recipient’s full name and birthday on them in addition to where they got the jab.

Because that information is personal, Mike Bannon, director of the Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection, is telling people not to share photos of the cards online.

“Personal information is very valuable to marketers and scam artists. Every bit of information goes into a database about you. The scam artists build a profile about you and sell it on the dark web,” Bannon says.

Criminals like to gather a lot of data about a person, he says, to make it easier for them to carry out an identity theft scheme.

“Once the information is there, these scam artists may target you more often with scam phone calls and emails…and they come back time and time again. That’s because they know a little bit about you and that gives them an advantage,” Bannon says. 

One safe way to share news of a vaccination, he says, is to post a photo of a vaccine sticker instead of the card.

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