Healthcare workers in Illinois, particularly physicians, have been targeted as the subject of scams by individuals impersonating federal and state investigators from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), or even other state boards if licensed elsewhere.
These fraudsters will often be able to replicate legitimate phone numbers to trick Caller IDs into showing that they are calling from a legitimate source. They will claim that there is an active criminal or disciplinary investigation against the provider, and may ask the provider to verify certain information such as a medical license number or NPI number to give the appearance of their legitimacy. However, the information “verified” is often publicly available to the scammers. These scammers use fear-based tactics and may get aggressive when challenged, but do not be fooled by any false sense of urgency.
The goal of this scam may be to get payments under the guise of “investigative bonds” which supposedly allow you to continue practicing your profession during the investigation, or may be to get individuals to divulge private information such as a social security number for purposes of identity theft.
Please know that the DEA will never call you to inform you of an investigation. If the DEA contacts you at all for any legitimate investigative purpose, it will be via official letter. The DEA has issued a press release confirming their knowledge and warning of this widespread scam.
The IDFPR, however, does use telephone contact in investigations, but will usually reach out by email as well with verifiable contact information for the investigator.
However, in light of the prevalence of this scam, all providers should be advised not to answer any questions or verify any personal information over the phone or by email without an attorney. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of any contact from an investigator, please do not hesitate to contact our office at (312) 335-8860.