AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Public Health (APH) is sending out a warning after reports scammers are posing as employees and using a spoofed phone line.
The APH Environmental Health Services mainline, 512-978-0300, is being used. As of Friday, City teams are working to stop this person or group from using the number.
"As a reminder, APH employees will never ask for Social Security, Medicaid, insurance, immigration or financial information," the department said on Friday. "There are instances when a member of the Austin Public Health Department will reach out via phone or email, but staff will properly identify themselves and provide contact information for additional questions. Staff will usually verify or confirm information that they already obtained from hospitals or labs instead of initially asking you to tell them that information."
If you believe you are being contacted by this scam caller, ask for their name, title and callback number from the alleged APH employee. You can then verify their information by contacting Austin 311 to ask for that person.
"While we continue to look into the situation, we are sending this notification today as a way of increasing awareness and protecting Austin-Travis County residents," APH said.
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