Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Supervisor Barger Calls for Crackdown on COVID-19 Testing Fraud and Identity Theft

Kathryn Barger

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger called for several County departments, including the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Health Services, the Sheriff’s Department and several others, to work together to develop a robust plan to mitigate COVID-19 testing fraud in L.A. County.

“As the urgent need for testing reaches a crucial point, it is imperative that we ensure residents can be confident they are receiving an accurate and legitimate test without risking their private information,” Supervisor Barger said in a prepared statement. “We must do all we can to crack down on fraudulent COVID-19 tests and sites and prevent identity theft.”

As a result of Supervisor Barger’s read-in motion at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting, several County departments will perform an analysis of the risk of fraudulent COVID-19 test sites and home test kits and develop an enforcement plan to eradicate them. They will also identify additional resources to combat identity theft committed by illegitimate testing providers.

Supervisor Barger’s motion also called on the departments to develop a public education plan so County residents can learn the threats of fake COVID-19 testing and test kits in order to know how to identify them and to find legitimate resources.