Second Maine hospital reports phone phishing scam
MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta is the second Maine hospital in the past month to report being the target of phone scammers. The scammers offer to help people pay hospital bills or reduce their debt and ask them to provide personal credit card information over the phone.
Last month, Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan reported that some of its former patients former patients had been targeted by a phishing scam involving automated phone calls seeking personal financial information.
MaineGeneral reported that the phone scammers are using caller ID “spoofing” — a manipulation of the caller ID feature that allows the scammers to disguise their true identity — and are disguising themselves as MaineGeneral.
Like Redington-Fairview, MaineGeneral does not make automated phone calls regarding patient billing — but noted that MaineGeneral Financial Services does make outbound calls seeking payment on past-due bills.
The Augusta hospital is advising people who get a call that they think could be a scam to hang up immediately and contact MaineGeneral’s switchboard at 207-626-1000 or 207-872-1000.
MaineGeneral has reported the scam to local authorities.
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