March 8, 2024
Scammers Targeting Physicians Continue to Impersonate State Regulators
The Washington Medical Commission is warning physicians and health care teams of an ongoing fraud ring preying on health care practitioners in Washington. Fraudulent behavior includes using the commission's phone number, email, and web URL; pretending to be U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents; and posing as a Department of Health official to make the physician or practitioner think they are in trouble with regulators or the law and may be in danger of discipline or loss of license. The scam involves using personal information to exploit you for money or information to execute scams on others.
Recent near-victims of this scam were:
- Sent official-looking letters from the commission and U.S. Department of Justice containing forged signatures of commission officials and fictional investigative staff.
- Called by someone claiming to be looking into their "over-prescribing of opioids."
- Told they were under official investigation for drug-related charges and that their license was immediately suspended.
- Told not to check our website because that would mean they are guilty.
- Recipients of emails that had wmc.wa.gov in the address.
A reminder that legitimate regulatory agencies will not:
- Ask you for money.
- Ask you to respond to any action in less than 20 days.
- Advise against speaking with a lawyer.
- Ask you to confirm personal details, passwords, or social security numbers.
The commission advises that the physician community protect itself by adhering to the following recommendations:
- Never click on links or download suspicious attachments.
- Don't fall prey to a manufactured urgency. A vital component of this fraud is the urgency of the request or demand. If you are contacted by a regulatory agency, you will have a legally protected amount of time to respond.
- If you suspect that you are being contacted by a fraudulent regulator, you can verify the request with the Washington Medical Commission by calling: 360.236.2750.
- Restrict your personal information online. Scammers leverage personal information from social media accounts or other public forums.
If you have verified that you are being attacked, file a complaint with the Washington state attorney general or file a complaint with the FBI Internet Crimes Unit and contact your local police department right away.