Phone Scam Targets Dentists in Illinois

A phone scam in Illinois uses recognizable phone numbers to trick and intimidate dentists into giving money.

The Illinois State Dental Society is warning members of a phone scam that tries to intimidate dentists into giving scammers money.

Dentists may receive a call from a phone number that appears to be from the Illinois State Dental Society, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, or possibly the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The scammers try to steal money or personal information and may come through phone calls from real people, robocalls, or text messages.

Scammers sometimes refer to an investigation and claim they found drugs in a specific location (commonly the state of Texas) with the dentist’s information tied to it. The scammers may even go as far as using the dentist’s license number or other information that might seem accurate.

Some scammers may call with threats of jail or lawsuits if you don’t pay them.

The ISDS tells members not to be concerned or fall for this scam, as the information they mention is available online to the public using a basic dental license lookup.

As a safety measure, dentists are able to confirm the status of their dental license through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

The ISDS says it is important to report phone scams to federal agencies. While they can’t investigate individual cases, the reports can help them collect evidence for lawsuits against scammers.

Report telephone scams online to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is the primary government agency that collects scam complaints.