Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, contact tracing has played a vital role in slowing the spread of the virus. But the process, which is conducted almost entirely over the phone, is now being targeted by scammers.Chief Deputy David Turner says the Jennings County Sheriff's Office has received several reports in the past two weeks about a scam involving fake contact tracing.The scammers, Turner explained, are calling or texting individuals, identifying themselves as law enforcement. The messages instruct people to call the health department at a fake phone number."So the person will contact that number and that's when they'll try to extract their personal information from them," Turner said.Some of the conversations lasted nearly two hours."(A lot) of them said you're eligible...to receive assistance, COVID assistance, so they asked for checking account numbers, savings accounts," Turner.The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness says they have not received similar reports, but they urge anyone who receives a call from a contact tracer to look for "Lou Metro Health" on the caller ID."The help line phones can help you with any questions related to calls you might get that sound off, and we really want to help everybody," said Karen Handmaker, who coordinates Louisville's contact tracing program.Turner doesn't believe any specific age group or demographic is being targeted but said those who have received the calls are left scared and confused."First of all, they're concerned with the virus itself. And, secondly, once they find out it could be a scam, you know, they're scared their information is out there somewhere and they could have their identity stolen," he said.He worries scams like this could hamper the efforts of real contact tracers trying to stop the spread of the virus."It's creating issues because people are scared to give their information out," he said.Turner advises anyone who receives a suspicious call from someone claiming to be a contact tracer to ask for that person's name and what agency they work for. He recommends calling that agency and asking for that person to confirm they work there. He also encourages anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of this scam to contact their local law enforcement agency.