Fraudulent Eventbrite Site Charging Some Tampa Bay Seniors For Covid Vaccine Registration
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (CW44 News At 10) - Some seniors registering for the COVID vaccine in Pinellas County have found themselves duped into paying for appointments on a fraudulent website.
County officials in the Tampa Bay area are warning seniors, you should not be charged to register for the covid vaccine. Registration is free. This warning follows the discovery of a fraudulent website hosted by Eventbrite.com that was charging unsuspecting Florida seniors to schedule appointments.
CW44 News At 10
In a press release early Tuesday morning, the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County has installed a simplified registration method via telephone to register seniors seeking a vaccination appointment. This solution is expected to continue until the county's safe and permanent solution is brought online.
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People aged 65 years or older can call (727) 824-6900 and select Option 4 or call (727) 824-6931. From there, an operator will ask for specific information including name, phone number and date of birth. The operator will then work with callers to get them scheduled for a date, time and location for their first dose of vaccine. Please note that due to high call volume, wait times may be longer than expected.
For those that were able to register properly online on Monday, county officials say their appointments will be honored.
Additionally, the county reminds anyone who has made an appointment through the fraudulent Eventbrite site does not have a valid reservation for a vaccination at the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County. However, schedulers will work with those individuals to get them onto the schedule.
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