Physicians and other health care practitioners are increasingly at risk of being targeted by scams, including impersonation scams where criminals pose as law enforcement or government officials to extort money or steal medical or personal information. It is important to remain vigilant to protect yourself, your patients, and your practice. Below are some common scams to which the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) has been alerted.
Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Scam Alert
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has identified fraudulent emails impersonating LARA officials. These scams may include requests for payment or personal information. Please do not respond to these messages and report any suspicious activity to LARA-Safety@michigan.gov. This email is for fraud purposes only; messages unrelated to LARA-related fraud will not receive a response.
Important: LARA will never ask you to provide your credit card numbers or other personal information by phone, text, email, or mail. If you are concerned that a communication, including a phone call or text, is not from a LARA official, verify it using contact information provided on an official LARA website. Please visit the IT Security and Data Protection page for more information on how to identify scams and report suspicious activity.
Medicare Fraud Scheme Involving Phishing Fax Requests
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified a fraud scheme targeting Medicare providers and suppliers. Scammers are impersonating CMS and sending phishing fax requests for medical records and documentation on CMS letterhead, falsely claiming to be part of a Medicare audit.
Important: CMS does not initiate audits by requesting medical records via fax.
Protect your information: If you receive a suspicious request, do not respond. If you think you received a fraudulent or questionable request, work with your Medical Review Contractor to confirm whether it is legitimate.
Fraudulent Tax Filings and Identity Theft
Unfortunately, the incidence of fraudulent tax filings continues to grow, and Michigan physicians are not immune. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encourages you “to be alert to possible tax-related identity theft if you receive a notice from the IRS or learn from your tax professional that:
- More than one tax return was filed for you;
- You owe additional tax, have a refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file a tax return;
- IRS records indicate you received more wages than you actually earned; or
- Your state or federal benefits were reduced or cancelled because the agency received information reporting an income change.”
Visit IRS Identity Theft Central for more information on how to prevent and report tax-related identity theft.
Important: The IRS will never send direct messages via social media and will not text you unless you have given permission to do so. Additionally, the IRS will never call to demand payment now, threaten arrest or inform you of a refund. Visit the IRS website, Report fake IRS, Treasury or tax-related emails and messages, to learn how to report suspicious IRS, Treasury and tax-related emails, texts, social media accounts, phone calls and letters.
If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Stacey Hettiger, Senior Director of Advocacy and Payor Relations at shettiger@msms.org or 517-336-5766.