With emergencies come scammers. State and local officials are warning against “pop-up” COVID-19 testing sites. Last week Governor Andy Beshear began warning the public about fake drive-up testing sites and citizens across Kentucky took note. Summer Dickerson and a few others ran off a crew that pitched a white tent in a church parking lot. “GO! You all need to leave! You are not coming down here and taking peoples’ DNA” she shouted as she filmed them with her phone.
The supposed medical team, dressed in white hazmat suits took swabs from people, insurance cards, personal information and over $200 each from Kentuckians who were afraid they had the virus. Not one person on site would show credentials and they quickly packed up when the media arrived. Governor Beshear said there are only a few legitimate drive-up testing sites in the state. “We’ve seen a couple that are trying to charge people a certain amount in cash. We cannot tell you the validity of any of them whatsoever unless they are ones that are connected to a healthcare facility.”
Dickerson was able to get the license plate numbers of the self-proclaimed medical team as they drove off. Officials believe the group is from Illinois and are the same one that scammed Kentuckians out of money last year, claiming they could check their DNA for diseases.