Fraudsters are taking advantage of Belgium's new contact tracing system to gather sensitive data from unsuspecting people, several Belgian newspapers reported on Monday.
Contact tracing involves identifying people who have been in contact with someone who has, in this case, the new coronavirus (Covid-19). Pilot phases for contact tracing started on 4 May in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia.
The federal police warned that malicious people are sending text messages on behalf of the contact centre or calling people to obtain sensitive information.
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"The real investigators will never tell you that you are infected," said federal police spokesperson Sarah Frederickx, as that is up to the doctor. "Nor will they ever ask for bank details or social security numbers, or try to find out what your daily life is like."
Contact tracers will only call people from the number 02 214 19 19, or send them a text message from 8811.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
