Hospital Scam
Just wanted to share with you this new scam we personally experienced while I was confined at Medical City. No worries, I'm okey now and back at home. Just had asthma, and the fatigue and stress probably got the best of me. I have a new arsenal of antihistimines, steriods and nebulization treatments.
Anyhow, this is more important. Apparently, these hospital phone scams have become rampant. I'm not sure if they happen in other hospitals as well, but it's best to be aware that it happens.
After we were settled in our hospital room, we got a phone call from an "operator" who asked for the patient's name for verification because my doctor was on the line and wanted to talk to me. My husband, who's the #1 cynic in the world, gave me name with major hesitation. Then, a man was transferred to the line. He asked me about my condition and he truly sounded like a doctor, mature, knowledgeable, good English. Anyway, he made conversation, apologized that he'd be late for his rounds today and if he could ask us a favor. That is, that he's helping out some foreign doctors and needs some dollars changed. If we could forward daw P15,000 to two
nurses and than he'll give us $300 when he does his rounds.
One hitch: my doctor is a FEMALE.
Andreas already knew that it was a scam but listened to the guy's entire salespitch before telling him politely he had no money with him. The fake doctor then asked if we had an ATM. Ang kapal! Ang kapal!
Immediately after we put down the phone, we called security and then we informed the nurses station. What alarmed us was that 1) the ring from the phone was an internal transfer (not from an outside line) and 2) the scam artist knew the name of our doctor, but not the gender...hehe. We concluded someone is probably going around the floor, jotting down the names of the doctors and made random calls. Our nurses later informed us that on our floor alone, 4 patients received similar scam calls, but with different ploys. Others were asked an advance in professional fees. In a matter of 2 hours or so, the medical city security had sent up extra people to monitor halls, interviewed us for our side of the story, advised us to lock all doors and also had the nurses introduce each and every shift so we were aware of who our REAL nurses were.
We were very happy with the way Medical City handled the situation and of course, we were not stupid enough to fall for such a scam. But what really upset me so much, is how LOW these scam artists will go. They prey on people who are at their weakest and most vulnerable. And when money is very tight, with the anticipation of a huge hospital bill. Some people are so despicable. Or this is a very bad indication of how bad the economy is, this Christmas season.
Anyhow, this is more important. Apparently, these hospital phone scams have become rampant. I'm not sure if they happen in other hospitals as well, but it's best to be aware that it happens.
After we were settled in our hospital room, we got a phone call from an "operator" who asked for the patient's name for verification because my doctor was on the line and wanted to talk to me. My husband, who's the #1 cynic in the world, gave me name with major hesitation. Then, a man was transferred to the line. He asked me about my condition and he truly sounded like a doctor, mature, knowledgeable, good English. Anyway, he made conversation, apologized that he'd be late for his rounds today and if he could ask us a favor. That is, that he's helping out some foreign doctors and needs some dollars changed. If we could forward daw P15,000 to two
nurses and than he'll give us $300 when he does his rounds.
One hitch: my doctor is a FEMALE.
Andreas already knew that it was a scam but listened to the guy's entire salespitch before telling him politely he had no money with him. The fake doctor then asked if we had an ATM. Ang kapal! Ang kapal!
Immediately after we put down the phone, we called security and then we informed the nurses station. What alarmed us was that 1) the ring from the phone was an internal transfer (not from an outside line) and 2) the scam artist knew the name of our doctor, but not the gender...hehe. We concluded someone is probably going around the floor, jotting down the names of the doctors and made random calls. Our nurses later informed us that on our floor alone, 4 patients received similar scam calls, but with different ploys. Others were asked an advance in professional fees. In a matter of 2 hours or so, the medical city security had sent up extra people to monitor halls, interviewed us for our side of the story, advised us to lock all doors and also had the nurses introduce each and every shift so we were aware of who our REAL nurses were.
We were very happy with the way Medical City handled the situation and of course, we were not stupid enough to fall for such a scam. But what really upset me so much, is how LOW these scam artists will go. They prey on people who are at their weakest and most vulnerable. And when money is very tight, with the anticipation of a huge hospital bill. Some people are so despicable. Or this is a very bad indication of how bad the economy is, this Christmas season.
posted by Quirkygirl | 9:35 PM
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