A warning to all physicians! There is a fraudulent telephone scheme in progress in which an “agent from the DEA” calls doctors at their offices claiming that the doctor’s medical license is at risk of being frozen due to drug trafficking performed with the doctor’s medical credentials. They provide and verify your medical license number and NPI (easily obtainable information). After describing the drug trafficking incident, you are asked to cooperate to “clear your name” and bring the criminals to justice. Legal statutes are repeatedly referenced to enforce “confidentiality.” The scammers do not want you to consult with anyone. Of course, in order to avoid having your personal bank accounts frozen, they want to collect information. The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a warning regarding scammers impersonating DEA agents. The person who called my office was “Agent Michael A. Davis” (the name was verified by my administrator as an employee of DEA) calling from 571-454-9198. When I refused to give my banking information, veiled threats were made. No information was disclosed.

I called the real Drug Enforcement Administration at 202-307-1000 to confirm the fraudulent nature of the call. Please beware of this elaborate scheme and save yourself time and potential financial loss.

This scam capitalizes on the integrity of the doctor, the respect for the DEA, and the fear of interruption of patient care. The scammer presents an elaborate background story to gain credibility. References are given to governmental agencies such as the FBI and FTC. Governmental statutes are cited to support the investigation and need for confidentiality (“you may tell no one about this investigation”). No probing for banking information occurs until very late in the conversation…about 45 minutes into the interrogation.

The DEA will never contact a physician by telephone and request personal or sensitive information. They present information about legal actions or legitimate investigations in person and/or by mail on official letterhead.