'DO NOT click the link'; Police warn of scam COVID-19 text messages

THOMASTON, Me. (WSET) -- Police are warning cell phone users of a new text message scam during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Thomaston Police Department in Maine posted on Facebook a photo of the alert being sent to people in a text message.

The message was sent to someone in Maine from an Indiana area code telling them they need to self-isolate because they came in contact with someone who tested positive or has shown symptoms for coronavirus.

The alert also tells you to get tested.

"If you receive a text message like the one pictured, DO NOT click the link!"police wrote on Facebook. "It is not a message from any official agency. It is however a gateway for bad actors to find their way into your world."

Police said it could be a phishing scam to get your personal information.

"The virus is not the only invisible enemy," police said. "Be vigilant against all threats!"

The BBB said scammers have also been targeting seniors with text messages posing as the U.S. Department of Health, and telling them they need to take a mandatory online COVID-19 test in order to receive the recently approved government stimulus payment.