Scammers are everywhere!

I received a phone call from a phone number with the caller ID “US GOV DEA” in Manassas, Virginia. It was screened by my Robokiller robocall app, and the caller left the following message:

“Good morning, this is Officer Alan Matthew with DEA the drug enforcement administration and my ID is M as in Mary, A as in apple, number 9173. This message is for Dr. Michael McGonigal. The reason of this call is to inform you Dr. Michael is that your NPI number which is <redacted> and your medical license number which is <redacted>. Your NPI and your medical license number involved in some fraudulent activities in San Antonio, Texas and that’s the reason we are trying to reach you to make you aware about the situation. So when you receive this message if you’re not aware about this please give us a call back as soon as possible. The department direct line which is 571-532-0076. I repeat the number is 571-532-0076. Thank you so much, have a good day.”

Some people might be fooled by the caller ID, but these can very easily be spoofed. In general, the DEA, like other Federal agencies, will not contact you primarily by phone. US Mail is the preferred route. That was the first clue that this was not a legitimate call.

Next, I listened to the message. The speaker had a pronounced accent, which in and of itself is not unusual. However, his grammar was not very good. My NPI and medical license number are available from public records, so I ignored that. Interestingly, he did not recite my DEA number, which is not public.

But the caller then tried to make the situation sound urgent by saying it involved fraudulent use of these numbers. This is a classic tactic used by scammers to elicit an emotional response and cause their mark to lower their cognitive defenses.

When I did an internet search on the number, the first item that came up was:

“DEA warns of scammers impersonating DEA employees”

from June of 2020.

The DEA warns that the scanners may:

• use an urgent and aggressive tone, refusing to speak to or leave a message with anyone other than their targeted victim
• threaten arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and, in the case of medical practitioners, revocation of their DEA numbers
• demand thousands of dollars via wire transfer or, in some instances, in the form of untraceable gift cards taken over the phone
• falsify the number on caller ID to appear as a legitimate DEA phone number
• will often ask for personal information, such as social security number or date of birth
• reference National Provider Identifier numbers and/or state license numbers when calling a medical practitioner. They also might claim that patients are making accusations against that practitioner.

What should you do if you receive a call like this? First, completely ignore it. Do not call the number! The DEA points out that it is a federal crime to impersonate a DEA agent, and has a reporting link on their website. However, it just provides a little more information and directs you to an FBI reporting site. This web page is geared toward reporting if you have been a financial victim. Unfortunately, I doubt the agency has the time or resources to pursue mere phone calls unless you have suffered personal or financial harm.

Bottom line: All of this is classic scam action. This has been going on for five years, and continues to this day. Don’t be fooled and fall for this scheme!