Friday, November 4, 2011

Gone phishing

Mary: "Dr. Grumpy's office, this is Mary."

Ms. Phish: "Hi, this is Cindy over at Dr. Weneverheardofhim's office, and we want to refer a patient to you."

Mary: "Okay, what's their insurance?"

Ms. Phish: "Hang on, to refer them we need Dr. Grumpy's address and Social Security number."

Mary: "Uh, you don't need his SS number to refer a patient. I can give his medical ID, which is what all plans require."

Ms. Phish: "No, this insurance requires the doctor's SS number."

Mary: "What insurance is that?"

Ms. Phish: "National Illness."

Mary: "We work with National Illness, and they don't..."

Ms. Phish: "LOOK! Just give me the doctor's SS number, or we will never send you another patient again!"

Mary: "Goodbye."
at

16 comments:

  1. ER's MomNovember 4, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    Can you clone Mary and send her my way?

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMDGNovember 4, 2011 at 8:30 AM

    That's incredible. Incredibly creative too. I hope you bought Mary lunch for that one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ERPNovember 4, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Holy crap. Ballsy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HavenNovember 4, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    You would think if someone trying to run that kind of scam would do a little research first.

    ReplyDelete
  5. thethingspatientssayNovember 4, 2011 at 10:08 AM

    They never do their research. They watch Grey's Anatomy and think they can outsmart the professionals. We get people who steal white coats all the time try and walk into our pharmacy and take narcotics. Yes, cause we just have them sitting in a big candy bowl inside...help yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ChivasNovember 4, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    I once asked for a doctor's license number b/c I needed it to process a claim. The receptionist freaked out. She went on and on about how she would never give that info over the phone, no one would ever need it, etc.

    After a confusing few minutes I figured out that she thought I meant driver's license number, not medical license. Another example of the need to be perfectly clear when communicating.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not HouseNovember 4, 2011 at 10:39 AM

    "You HAVE to help us! The patient is a deposed Nigerian prince!"

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    Go, Mary!

    ReplyDelete
  9. TrishNovember 4, 2011 at 5:41 PM

    I'm in love with Mary.

    ReplyDelete
  10. lbparkerNovember 4, 2011 at 8:18 PM

    Did you report the phishing scam to the appropriate office?

    And Mary is the best!

    ReplyDelete
  11. JessaNovember 4, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    Yes, social engineering is wonderful, isn't it? You'd actually be surprised at how much you can get just by asking. Kevin Mitnick has written a few books on the subject, very compelling reads.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousNovember 4, 2011 at 11:49 PM

    Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. When I had to visit a mine site they asked me for my social insurance number. I asked if I HAD to give it and they said no, they just wanted it. I didn't give it but the others in the group did. When I took my parents shopping and the store offered them a discount if they got a store card, same thing. And they gave it, even though I told them not to, because the store asked and they didn't want to be rude. (Yes, we're Canadian.)

    ReplyDelete
  13. LauraNovember 5, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    @Not House
    Speaking of Nigerian Princes...
    In my local news...

    http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/former_wampsville_clerk_says_s.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. Technically InsaneNovember 5, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    Ha! We want fingerprints and DNA too!

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousNovember 6, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    "...we will never send you another patient again!"
    So was that a threat, or a promise?

    ReplyDelete
  16. NopNovember 8, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    How the hell do you find staff that clued up? You owe her a pay rise, or at least champagne/chocolates/whatever.
    Either way, please tell her that some random guy from Australia is impressed as all hell with her smarts.

    ReplyDelete

So wadda you think?