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  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: doctor, , , ,   

    Doctor falls prey to money laundering scam 

    By Greg Collier

    One of the main points we try to drive home when discussing scams is that anyone can fall victim to a scam. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teenager working a part-time job, or an established academic, there’s a scam designed just for your particular circumstance.

    And speaking of academics, the victim in today’s story is a doctor. Whether someone is a medical doctor or a doctor of letters, they’ve spent years, if not decades, of constant learning. When advances in their respective fields are made, that’s even more studying and researching that has to be done. They can’t become successes in their field without being studious and knowledgeable. Yet, they still get scammed like everyone else.

    One of the more common scams that targets doctors is a variation of the jury duty scam. In these instances, instead of being told they missed jury duty, they’re told they’ve missed testifying as an expert witness. The doctors are told to make a payment to the scammers posing as police to avoid being arrested.

    The doctor from Cleveland who recently fell victim to a scam was targeted in a licensing scam. He received a call that claimed to be from the Ohio State Medical Board. The phone number on the caller ID even matched that of the Medical Board. The 57-year-old doctor was told his license was being suspended because he was being investigated by the FBI for money laundering. He was instructed to wire $20,000 to have his license reinstated. After the doctor wired the money, he called the actual Medical Board to see if the payment was received. That’s when he learned he had been scammed.

    It’s essential to recognize that scams don’t discriminate. They can infiltrate the lives of individuals from all walks of life, irrespective of their economic or educational background. Falling victim to a scam doesn’t reflect a lack of intelligence or judgment; it underscores the cunning tactics employed by fraudsters to exploit our vulnerabilities. By staying informed, vigilant, and sharing our experiences, we can collectively build a stronger defense against scams and protect ourselves and our communities from the pervasive threat they pose.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 19, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , doctor, , ,   

    Even doctors can be scammed 

    Even doctors can be scammed

    By Greg Collier

    Doctors are some of the most educated specialists in our country. Not only do they have to deal with college, med school, and residency, but as the science and technology advances, they have to keep educating themselves. So, some may find it surprising that doctors are just as vulnerable as the average consumer is to scams. We’re not even talking about medically specific scams like insurance fraud or doctor shopping for narcotics. We’re talking about one of the most common scams out there today, the jury duty scam.

    For those who may not know, the jury duty scam is where scammers impersonate officials or law enforcement representatives to target individuals and extract money or personal information from them. Typically, the scammers will call their victims and threaten them with arrest for not showing up to jury duty unless the victim makes a payment then and there. The scammers will often ask for payment in untraceable ways, like cryptocurrency, gift cards, or prepaid debit cards, to name a few.

    However, when doctors are targeted, the scammers don’t tell them they’ve missed jury duty. Instead, the scammers tell the doctors they failed to appear as an expert witness. Doctors may testify as expert witnesses in legal proceedings to provide their professional opinion and expertise on medical matters.

    Recently in the Cleveland, Ohio area, several doctors were approached by scammers and threatened with arrest if they did not make a payment of $4000. The scammers even had personal information on each doctor. One doctor even paid $2000 to the scammers before the doctor’s bank realized the doctor was being scammed.

    This is yet another example of how anyone can be scammed. Some people have lulled themselves into a false sense of security and have convinced themselves they can’t be scammed. Please take it from us that there is a scam out there for everybody. It’s just a matter if the right scammer can find you or not.

    We realize not all of our readers are doctors. However, this scam does show that actual police departments will not contact you by phone if you miss a court date or jury duty. Any communication in these matters will be done through the mail, and if a payment does need to be made, that’s usually done at the courthouse.

    If you receive a call like this, hang up and contact your local police at their non-emergency number.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 12, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: doctor, , ,   

    Doctors taken for $300K in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Many of us consider doctors to be some of the best and brightest among us. They never stop learning, as their profession requires them to be on the cutting edge of medical science. But for all their medical knowledge, even doctors are susceptible to scams. We’re not talking about a medically specific scams, either. We’re talking about one of the most common scams there is.

    Recently, In Houston, Texas, 60 people were targeted in the jury duty scam. Many of the victims were doctors, and each victim lost $5000 each for a combined loss of $300,000.

    For new readers, the jury duty scam works like this. The scammer will call the victim, posing as a representative of the local court system, and claim that the victim has failed to appear for jury duty. They will then tell the victim that there is a warrant out for their arrest and that they must pay a fine to avoid being arrested. Typically, scammers will ask for payment in something largely untraceable like a prepaid debit card, git cards, or cryptocurrency.

    If you think about it critically, this is a pretty ingenious twist on the jury duty scam. Doctors tend to make more money than the average consumer. It only takes a handful of doctors to fall for the scam in order for the scammer to make a substantial profit.

    The reason we bring up the fact that doctors are falling victim to one of the most common scams is because it shows that no matter how intelligent a person might be, there’s a scam out there that they could fall for. It may not be the jury duty scam, but there is a scam out there that could be the one that finally fools you. We’ve seen everyone from teachers to CEOs who have lost vast amounts of money to various scams.

    As far as the jury duty scam is concerned, please keep in mind that no law enforcement agency will ever threaten someone with arrest over the phone. In most cases, the court will send a summons via mail, and any communication related to jury duty will be conducted in person or via official court correspondence. If you receive a call or email claiming to be related to jury duty, it’s important to verify the authenticity of the communication before providing any personal or financial information.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: doctor, , , ,   

    Romance scammers steal life savings of elderly victim 

    By Greg Collier

    The holiday season is the time of the year when romance scammers strike the hardest. After all, most people to be alone for the holidays. That loneliness can make anyone vulnerable to the promises of a romance scammer. Romance scammers often pose as well-off individuals, such as doctors or international businessmen. The stability of some of these positions make them more attractive to their victims. It also doesn’t help that when someone is lonely, the heart can often overrule the mind, and red flags are often ignored.

    That happened to an elderly Pennsylvania woman who lost almost $40,000 to scammers. Her scammer claimed to be a doctor who was working in Iraq for the United Nations. It was because the scammer was said to be in Iraq that it made it easy for them to avoid meeting the victim. It also made it easy for the scammer to make excuses as to why they couldn’t talk on FaceTime or why the ‘doctor’ was unable to carry any money on him.

    For months, the scammer cultivated an online relationship with their victim. At first, they would talk every day through online chats. Then the chats became phone calls where they would talk every day. The scammer was said to have talked like someone who was in love, even saying things to the victim like ‘How was your day?’. Things that many of us might take for granted when we’re in relationships.

    Then it finally became time for the scammer to pull the trigger on the scam. At first, the money requests started small. The first one was for a $100 pre-paid debit card that the victim took a photo of and sent to the scammer. Then came larger amounts for things like cell phone service, food, and a plane ticket for the ‘doctor’ to meet the victim. However, instead of the meeting taking place, the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be the doctor’s lawyer.

    That person said that the doctor had been arrested because of the drugs in his bag, and he needed $20,000 bail. By this time, the victim had already gone through her savings, but the supposed lawyer pressured her into finding more money. She was told to sell her car, cash out life insurance policies, and beg from her family if need be. It was then the victim realized she had been scammed.

    The photos the scammer used turned out to be of an actual doctor from Spain, whose picture was being used in all manner of romance scams.

    The victim had lost everything to the scam, but was fortunate enough to have family her took her in. She believes she was taken advantage of because she had listed herself as a widow on her Facebook page.

    The romance scam probably comes with the most victim blaming, as many people say they can’t believe someone would fall for such a scam. That’s when we like to remind people that anybody can fall victim to a scam, no matter their education level or socioeconomic status. Recently, a Texas man pleaded guilty to being part of a romance scam that took $1.2 million from just one victim. You don’t accrue that kind of money without being a little smart.

    The best way to protect yourself from romance scammers is to do a reverse image search of any picture they send you of themselves. If the results come back to someone who isn’t who they say they are, then your best bet is to cut off any communication with them. It goes doubly so if they start asking you for money if you haven’t even met yet.

    If you know someone, especially an elderly person, who might be caught in a romance scam, please show them this blog post or the Romance Scam page from the FTC’s website.

     

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