The Nantucket Cottage Hospital announced on Friday that they have become aware of an increase in fraudulent calls to patients associated with the hospital. NCH Public Information Officer James Lanza said there has not been a data breach of any sort at this time, but reiterated their concern given the large number of patients in the hospital’s system.
“These calls are often disguised as hospital communications through a practice called spoofing, where fraudsters make it appear as if their calls are coming from a specific number, in this case from NCH,” Lanza said. “These callers pose as a staff member calling on behalf of Nantucket Cottage Hospital in an attempt to obtain patients’ personal information such as social security numbers and insurance information. While this information is gathered during the initial patient registration process, you will not be asked to provide your full information again once you are a registered patient.”
The hospital said that calls coming from them will only ask you to verify the last four digits of your social security number, or confirm the insurance provider, not the insurance number.
“If you suspect you’re receiving a fraudulent call, please ask for the name of the caller, hang up, and call Nantucket Cottage Hospital to verify the call with NCH staff,” they said.
Lanza said if people become aware of any potential scams, or fall victim to what they suspect is a scam, there are actions people can take
- File a report with Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General: Submit a Hotline Complaint | Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (hhs.gov).
- File a report with your local law enforcement authority.
- Contact the three major credit-reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and request that a Fraud Alert be placed on your account.
