Valley woman tells ABC15 after calling in suspicious medical bill

When a Valley woman got a call from someone telling her she owed money for an overdue hospital bill, she wasn’t sure if it was real or not.

The caller had plenty of information, but the woman said there were red flags that made her skeptical. She contacted the Let ABC15 Know team to verify if the alleged bill collector was legitimate.

Robin said it started in April when she received an unexpected phone call with an unexpected claim. She said the caller told her, “You have a bill from eight years ago that you haven’t paid a dime on. Now it’s too late, the processor server will arrive tomorrow. We are 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 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 been dealing with health issues over the past decade, and at first she thought they were real.

“{They} knew my name, knew my address and said I had sons. It started to make me think, either this is real or someone has a lot of my information,” Robin said.

But then Robin said the caller became loud and aggressive with her.

She hung up, still unsure if the call was legitimate, and contacted Let ABC15 Know for help.

Our volunteers were able to confirm that it was a scam. The team contacted the State Bar of Arizona and discovered that 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 provided by the caller, but look it up 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 that day at all,” Robin said.

It was another sign that the call was likely a scam.

“I think one of the most confusing aspects of it too was that it was a local phone number,” Robin explained.

Often, this is how collection agency scam calls work, scammers can spoof local numbers just like other scams.

The caller may mix in some truth, such as your name and address, to make their claim seem legitimate, but that information is publicly accessible or available through social media.

Be wary if you receive such a call.

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 in to scare tactics. Robin said the scammers yelled and were aggressive during the call, but a legitimate company will never threaten, belittle or yell at you to get you to pay.

Know the law. In Arizona, the statute of limitations for collecting medical debt is six years.

Robin said she was glad Let ABC 15 Know was able to help her, and that she did not give the caller any money or information.

If you think you have been a victim of a scam, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.