Contact Tracing mistake?

Idle Passerby

My mother (over 70) got a phonecall today asking to speak to X. Not her name so she said sorry wrong number and they hung up. She then got a text saying X is Covid positive and has identified you as a recent contact. She's never heard of X.

Does this seem legit? Would they identify a person who is positive in a text to a third party? Seems contrary to GDPR. Assuming its genuine though, what's her course of action now?

is_that_so

In the absence of other suggestions I'd say contact HSE live and ask them.

https://www2.hse.ie/services/contact-the-hse/

Lisha

I reckon it’s fake. Anyone I know who was contacted as a close contact, were not told who the positive person was.

Ficheall

There were warnings recently of people pretending to be covid tracers. I can't remember where I saw them or what the scam was exactly, but you're definitely right to be suspicious...

IrishStuff09

The HSE don't tell you who tested positive if you're a close contact, so I'd be wary about that being a fake call

Thoie

I got a contact alert last October, and they wouldn't/couldn't tell me the location, let alone the name of the contact, so I'd ignore the calls/text.

If it was me, I'd call the HSE directly. and restrict movements until I'd got a yes or no from them. And remind her the HSE will never ask you to pay for a Covid test, which is probably where the scam is going. "You've been identified as a contact, you must get a test, now give us €€€ via credit card over the phone to book your appointment."

Idle Passerby

Yeah, it does seem fairly dodgy.

punisher5112

It could be they will contact to send a vaccines giver over and charge for the privilege.... Hence the scam....

Tell her not to answer the door unless she knows who they are and don't give out any details on the phone etc....

Goodigal

Worked in contact tracing for a few months. Never revealed the name of the Index Case and the text should not do so either.
As others said, report it to HSElive and tell your Mam she's not a close contact. Also block the number in case they ring back.

witchgirl26

Nope they'll never tell you the name. I'm a close contact & it's my mam who's positive but no one mentioned anything to me about her. Just said when the last contact occurred according to the positive person.

p15574

Idle Passerby wrote: »

She then got a text saying X is Covid positive and has identified you as a recent contact. She's never heard of X.

What else did it say - did it have a link in it?

Idle Passerby

p15574 wrote: »

What else did it say - did it have a link in it?

It may have, I haven't seen it myself and my mum wouldn't be the most au fait with texts.

Red Silurian

It could be that somebody under the age of 18 has received a positive tests result and the HSE have been given the wrong number but it's most likely a scam

Contact HSE live as above and confirm your mother's number to them

Idle Passerby

Ok, my mum's all confused. She got a call on the landline asking for a woman named X - wrong number. When she hung up she had a call on her mobile saying she was a close contact and to contact HSE for more info. No name mentioned. Now I'm thinking it might be legitimate but my mum is all confused about what they said so it's hard to know what's going on.

Esel

Does your mother have the Covid App on her mobile phone?

p15574

Idle Passerby wrote: »

Ok, my mum's all confused. She got a call on the landline asking for a woman named X - wrong number. When she hung up she had a call on her mobile saying she was a close contact and to contact HSE for more info. No name mentioned. Now I'm thinking it might be legitimate but my mum is all confused about what they said so it's hard to know what's going on.

So the phone call was likely unrelated and the text is legit...probably.

Idle Passerby

Esel wrote: »

Does your mother have the Covid App on her mobile phone?

No, she doesn't have a smartphone and barely knows how to use it as it is.

Idle Passerby

p15574 wrote: »

So the phone call was likely unrelated and the text is legit...probably.

Yeah that's what it seems like now. Although it wasn't a text, it was a voicemail (this is how tech unsavvy she is, she doesn't know the difference. And doesn't know how to find the message to listen again.) Apparently they said to contact HSE for further details and that they'd call back a number of times to check in on her over the next week or so.

Idle Passerby

Red Silurian wrote: »

Contact HSE live as above and confirm your mother's number to them

Is there a number that goes to an actual person? I'm just getting an automated response.