Criminals impersonate the National Health Fund and you can lose money. However, there are many more such scams

On Tuesday (March 12, 2024), the National Health Fund published a message in which it warned patients against fraudsters who want to extort data and money. There is information on the Internet about fake drug vouchers and gift cards for pharmacies that are supposed to be issued by the National Health Fund. Please note, this is just a scam attempt, not a real action! The National Health Fund notes that reliable information on medical services can be obtained on the official website of the National Health Fund and on the NFZ hotline – by calling 800 190 59.

What other methods do criminals use?

Health care fraud attempts that have recently flooded the Internet are not the only ones. There have been more of them in recent months. What to watch out for? One example is the Legionella scam, during which criminals took advantage of older people's fear of infection. They pretended to be employees of the sanitary and epidemiological station and tried to extort personal data. They did this under the pretext of conducting tests for possible Legionella infection. Criminals may also act in this way in the case of other diseases, so you should be vigilant.

In turn, in July 2023, there was a lot of talk about fake e-prescriptions that flooded the Internet. E-mail messages were sent suggesting that the sender was the domain patient.gov.pl. The content stated that the recipient received an e-prescription, which can be found in the attachment. In fact, however, it was a file whose opening resulted in a connection to a remote server from which the malicious file was downloaded. Another fraud method also emerged: a phone call from a doctor. The criminals contacted potential victims, informing them that someone close to them was seriously ill and needed funds for their treatment. After a while of conversation, a person introduced himself as a doctor, which made the whole situation credible.

What to do in the event of a fraud attempt?

It is very important to be extremely careful in such situations. The police warn that fraudsters are ruthless. If someone calls our phone number and during the conversation tries to convince us that, for example, we need to donate money for the treatment of a loved one, we should disconnect the call as soon as possible and call 112 to inform the police about the attempted fraud.

You should also remember to be careful in contacts with strangers and never give money to people you do not know, and the request to transfer money should be confirmed by contacting someone close to you. In the case of suspicious messages, it is extremely important not to click on a link that seems unreliable. Also remember that under no circumstances should you open attachments that you are not sure of their source. The best solution is to contact an organization, such as the National Health Fund, via the official website.