When a Valley woman received a call from someone telling her she owed them money for a past due hospital bill, she wasn’t sure if it was real or not.
The caller had enough information, but the woman said there were red flags that made her skeptical. She reached out to the Let ABC15 Know Team to verify if the so-called bill collector was legit.
Robin said it started in April when she got an unexpected call with an unexpected claim. She said the caller told her, “You have a bill from eight years ago that you haven't bothered to pay a penny on, now it's too late, the processor server is coming tomorrow. We're going to take you to court.”
Scammers tried to take Robin to the bank for $1,300. They claimed she owed Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital for an unpaid medical bill.
“I thought I had everything taken care of, maybe it could be a medical bill that I lost,” she said.
Robin has dealt with health issues over the past decade, and at first, she thought it was real.
“{Them} knowing my name, knowing my address, commenting that I had sons, it started to make me think, either this is real, or somebody's got a lot of my information,” said Robin.
But then Robin said the caller became loud and aggressive with her.
She hung up the phone, still not sure if the call was legitimate, and she reached out to Let ABC15 Know for help.
Our volunteers were able to confirm it was a scam. The team checked with the State Bar of Arizona and found the law firm, the caller claimed to represent was not registered in Arizona.
If someone claims you owe money, ask for details. Hang up and call the medical professional directly. Do not use the information the caller provides, look it up for yourself.
That’s exactly what Robin did, she called the hospital’s billing department.
“They told me there was no record of me being in the hospital on that day at all,” Robin said.
It was another sign that the call was likely a scam.
“I guess one of the most confusing parts about it too, was it was a local phone number,” explained Robin.
Many times, that’s how debt collector scam calls work, scammers can spoof local numbers, just like other scams.
The caller may mix in some truth, like your name, and address, to make their claim seem legit, but that information is either publicly accessible or available through social media.
Be wary if you get a call like this.
Never give out your personal information. If someone calls you randomly and asks you to “verify” your personal information, think twice, even if the caller sounds professional.
Don’t give into scare tactics. Robin said the scammers were yelling and aggressive during the call, but a legitimate business will never threaten, belittle or yell to get you to pay up.
Know the law. In Arizona, the statute of limitations to collect on medical debt is six years.
Robin said she was glad Let ABC 15 Know was able to help her, and that she didn’t give the caller any money or information.
If you think you’ve been a victim of a scam you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.
