Mid Coast Hospital is warning the community about a phone scam targeting community members. Scammers are calling patients and disguising themselves as Mid Coast Hospital. They use a technique called caller ID "spoofing,” in which they manipulate the caller ID feature to mask their true identity, making it look like the call is coming from the hospital instead.
Mid Coast Hospital does call patients for legitimate purposes, including: appointment reminders, patient satisfaction surveys, test results, and other official correspondence. However, the hospital would never make calls offering such things as vacations, credit cards, or other promotional opportunities.
Mid Coast Hospital offers the following tips regarding phone scams:
- If you have never been a patient at Mid Coast Hospital or
Mid Coast Medical Group, and are not currently scheduled for a medical procedure, it is unlikely that you would be receiving a call.
- If you are a Mid Coast Hospital or Mid Coast Medical Group patient and you are unsure as to why you would receive a call from Mid Coast, ask for the caller’s name, hospital department, and a direct phone number to call them back.
- If you believe that the call is a scam, hang up immediately.
- Do NOT provide any personal information if you receive one of these calls.
Law enforcement and the Federal Trade Commission have been alerted and recommend that if you do receive such a call, write as many details as possible and report it to local police.