Previous Story
NMI vaccinations now at 70%
Road to 80: Beware of scammers
The CNMI reached a milestone last Saturday afternoon, with 70% of its eligible population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.
Next up for the CNMI is to reach 80%—usually considered the threshold for herd immunity— and the push toward that goal is the focus of the vaccination campaign Road to 80, which has thus far awarded thousands of dollars in raffle prizes. with many more prizes lined up in the future.
As Road to 80 has quickly begun picking up steam, it has also begun attracting the attention of scammers who hope to give unsuspecting people false hope that they have won prizes.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Road to 80 warned its followers of two individuals who were posing as Road to 80 representatives in the comment section of its own social media posts. The two individuals would reply to unsuspecting people, and ask that they contact the scammer to learn more about how to claim their “prize.”
Road to 80 raffle host Brad Ruszala said Saturday that it was the followers of the campaign’s Facebook page that brought the scammers to Road to 80’s attention. The two scammers’ accounts have since been reported to Facebook and have been banned from the Road to 80 Facebook page.
Ruszala said there is a “silver lining” to the ordeal: While it was unfortunate that there are now some scammers preying on Road to 80 supporters, it was the collective effort and the vigilance of the community that weeded out these scammers.
Road to 80’s Facebook page, and its post about the two scammers, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/roadto80cnmi.
