Public health departments have relied on contact tracing for years as a simple and confidential process to slow the spread of infectious diseases and avoid outbreaks. Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department has outlined helpful steps to take if you have tested positive or have been in contact with someone with COVID-19.

Legitimate messages about contact tracing will come directly from the Public Health Department. They will give you a call and only ask:

• If you are experiencing symptoms or if you have been tested.
• About places that you have been too.
• About people you may have been in contact with.

Any follow up questions will be based on your responses. Additionally, the California Attorney General issued a consumer alert on June 8, 2020 to warn against contact tracing scams. To avoid falling victim to these scams, the California Department of Justice says that real contact tracers will never:

• Ask for your Social Security number, financial or health insurance information.
• Ask about your immigration status.

If you believe you have been the victim or target of a scam related to COVID-19, please immediately file a complaint at ‪the Office of the Attorney General.