The South Dakota Department of Health has become aware of an ongoing scam impacting multiple healthcare regulatory boards within South Dakota. This fraudulent activity involves individuals impersonating Department of Health or licensing board officials and falsely claiming healthcare practitioners are in breach of licensing rules, laws, or regulations.
It is crucial to emphasize the DOH, along with other South Dakota regulatory boards, would never engage in such behavior. The scam involves leveraging personal information obtained through various means to fabricate urgent demands or threats of disciplinary action.
It is important to make clear and to recognize legitimate regulatory agencies will never:
- Request or demand monetary payments;
- Issue threats of disciplinary actions or license termination over the phone;
- Demand responses to actions in less than 20 days;
- Discourage seeking legal advice;
- Solicit personal details, passwords, or social security numbers.
To safeguard against these fraudulent activities, healthcare practitioners are urged to adhere to the following recommendations:
- Exercise Caution Online: Refrain from clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from unknown sources.
- Beware of False Urgency: Scammers often fabricate urgency in their demands. Legitimate communications from regulatory agencies afford practitioners a legally protected period to respond.
- Protect Personal Information: Limit the dissemination of personal information online, as scammers frequently exploit data sourced from social media and other public forums.
The DOH emphasizes the importance of vigilance and encourages practitioners to report any suspicious activity promptly. We are committed to ensuring the safety and integrity of healthcare practitioners in the state and will take necessary actions to address and prevent such fraudulent activities.
For further information or to report fraudulent activity, please contact State Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986.