Get one of these? Good. Keep it private!
As COVID-19 vaccination eligibility expands, you may notice more of your family and friends posting selfies with their CDC-issued vaccination cards. While sharing the experience on social media is a great way to celebrate preventing the spread of the virus and motivate others to get vaccinated, posting photos of your vaccination card broadcasts sensitive personal information: name, birthdate, vaccine lot number and location, and more.
These details might not seem like a lot, but hackers can use pieces of information like this to fill in the blanks about you and access your personal accounts. It’s called social engineering, and it’s a low-tech way for hackers to access buildings, systems, or data by exploiting human psychology. The information you post online – on your social media, LinkedIn, and other sites – is used to gather everything they need to know about you.
How posting your COVID vaccine card can lead to hacking
If you post an unedited photo of your vaccination card online, details like your medical record number can be used by hackers to gain access to medical records over the phone. And with your name and birthdate also on the card, that’s all they’d need to impersonate you and contact your healthcare providers to access your medical history, prescriptions, appointments and procedures, and more.
A hacker could also use the vaccine lot number and the location of where you got the vaccine to spoof the email address of that facility with an email urging you to click a link about rescheduling your appointment, when the link is actually intended to gather up the rest of your personal details.
How can I celebrate getting vaccinated?
We certainly don’t want to put a damper on this important occasion! If you want to share that you got vaccinated on your social media accounts, consider cropping out details on a card, or just posting a selfie. Some vaccine sites are even providing stickers that you can share online instead.
Avoid COVID-related scams
Unfortunately, the pandemic has led to several types of scams that take advantage of people’s anxieties and fears about contracting the virus. Be vigilant about protecting your identity when solicited for personal info! Here are some helpful tips from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.