Heads Up on New Scam in Florida — and Elsewhere

BRADENTON, Fla. — As industry veterans know, there’s
always some sort of scam making the rounds.

Earlier this week, the Florida Association of Medical Equipment
Services gave the heads up on a fraud issue directed specifically
at HME providers that Cigna Government Services, the Jurisdiction C
DME MAC, has seen recently.

According to the report, scammers are faxing an information
request that looks like it is on CGS/CMS letterhead asking
providers to update banking information. Once that is obtained, the
bank account is drained.

“The known cases are in South Florida, but we ask that all
suppliers be aware,” a Cigna representative said.

“We are making some changes to our forms and processes to try
and combat this, but in the meantime the single biggest way for
suppliers to protect themselves is to make sure that you only fax
to the numbers listed on our Web site.”

Adding insult to injury, there is also an increase in fraudulent
electronic funds transfer (EFT) applications. Once the bank account
is compromised, the EFT application is updated to show a change to
a new fraudulent bank account where the money is being deposited.
So far, the greater Miami area is the target, the report said.