SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is warning Californians to be vigilant following multiple reports of scammers impersonating department employees to obtain sensitive personal and financial information. These scams mirror similar attempts at fraud across the country. While CDPH may reach out to individuals for legitimate public health purposes, such as disease contact tracing, these calls will never involve requests for Social Security numbers, credit card information, or non–health-related data.
“We are aware of ongoing scam efforts impersonating CDPH staff to pressure Californians into divulging personal information,” said CDPH Director Dr. Erica Pan. “We urge Californians to remain vigilant about phone and online scams. While CDPH staff do contact members of the public regarding public health investigations, they would never ask for personal financial information of any kind over the phone.”
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