Sask. Health Authority warns about monkeypox phone scam

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is warning the public about a monkeypox-related phone scam.

Callers claim the people they ring are close contacts to someone with monkeypox, SHA said on social media.

The scammers then might ask the person on the other end of the line to press a number.

SHA said there are currently no known cases of monkeypox in the province. There have been no new cases of confirmed monkeypox this month in Saskatchewan, according to the federal government's website.

SHA said in a Twitter post that people who receive the scam call should hang up and not press any numbers.

Monkeypox is a viral infection that usually causes a painful rash, but most people recover on their own after a while, according to the Government of Canada.

While sometimes people can get very sick or die, the government said that as of Oct. 14, Canada has had no reported deaths related to the disease since the beginning of the outbreak.

In August the SHA and Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer warned the public about an "elevated risk" of contracting monkeypox through anonymous sexual contact.

In a news release at the time, the health authority said it was issuing the alert "due to recent known cases associated with this source of transmission," and following "information reported to public health related to travel into and out of province."