At some point during the COVID-19 pandemic, emails about a "Pfizer Treatment Survey" began landing in readers' inboxes. Such messages promoted "$90 or more" in rewards for taking the survey. The emails did not mention vaccines, but it may have been implied anyway.
"Take part in our rewards program for adults who offer their opinion about the Pfizer treatment," the email read. Also, the body of the message was nothing but an image with text.
However, this was all a scam. Pfizer, the company, had nothing to do with it.
Such emails promoting a "Pfizer Treatment Survey" should be avoided and deleted. If this were a legitimate offer, there would be trust signals. For one, the subject line would not read, "--C00NFlRmaaTlONN--REeCEe1PT...--+eef." Also, the email would have come from an official email address, not one ending with "@tangor777.club," as we saw in one of the messages.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a page about such scams, saying that others are out there for Moderna and AstraZeneca, and perhaps even Johnson & Johnson:
People across the country are reporting getting emails and texts out of the blue, asking them to complete a limited-time survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. (And no doubt, there may be one for Johnson & Johnson, too.) In exchange, people are offered a free reward but asked to pay shipping fees.
If you get an email or text like this, STOP. It’s a scam.
No legitimate surveys ask for your credit card or bank account number to pay for a “free” reward.
If you get an email or text you’re not sure about:
- Don’t click on any links or open attachments. Doing so could install harmful malware that steals your personal information without you realizing it.
- Don’t call or use the number in the email or text. If you want to call the company that supposedly sent the message, look up its phone number online.
We investigated where the "Pfizer Treatment Survey" link in one of the emails led. After what appeared to be several redirects from website to website, our browser landed on a .ru (Russian) survey scam website. We recommend deleting these emails if you receive them.
Source:
Tressler, Colleen. “Ignore Bogus COVID Vaccine Survey.” Consumer Information, 24 Mar. 2021, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2021/03/ignore-bogus-covid-vaccine-survey.