We are receiving an increasing number of reports of licensees receiving fraudulent calls claiming to be an investigator from the FBI or other Federal Agency, or from a Board Investigator working with a Federal Agency on an investigation. Callers use publicly available information about the intended victim's license, name, and place of work, in an attempt to scam or mislead the licensee.The callers will threaten loss of license and demand personal information to confirm the investigation or will demand payment. In some cases, these calls appear to be coming from the Board or other official agency because the scammers are “spoofing" telephone numbers. These callers are targeting all licensed health professionals and have been targeting licensees in many states.
The Board will never call to demand urgent payment.
Further, the Board has heard reports from licensees receiving fraudulent calls or emails claiming to be from their employer's human resources or payroll department asking for updated banking information.
If you receive one of these calls, or are unsure if the call you've received from the Board or from your employer is legitimate, please hang up and return the call, as the call will go to the Board or to your employer not to the spoofed number calling you. This can help you determine the authenticity of the call. The Board can be reached at 971-673-0201 or at physical.therapy@oregon.gov.
We recommend reporting the incident to the FBI and www.ic3.gov. The Federal Trade Commission also provides recovery steps, shares information with more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies and takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov. For anyone who may have given personally identifiable information like a social security number to the caller, you can learn about how to protect against identity theft at www.identitytheft.gov.
More Information on Scams targeting Health Care Professionals:
Licensure scams: Red flags to know to avoid becoming a victim, (American Occupational Therapy Association, 6/18/2024)
FBI Warns Individuals Employed in the Health Care Industry of the Ongoing Scam Involving the Impersonation of Law Enforcement and Government Officials, (FBI News Release, 8/22/2022)
How To Avoid a Government Impersonation Scam, (Federal Trade Commission, 11/2023)
Recognizing Scams, (Federal Trade Commission)