Bob LeFridge  

Hey NZ tooteratii...

An older friend is receiving multiple calls from a blocked number, with the caller claiming to be from Health NZ. The first was on Friday, with the caller saying they were "checking patients in outer Canterbury" who are on waiting lists.

While my friend is on a waiting list, she lives in Southland. (Red flag)

Then came the request for NH number, which my friend refused to give to a blocked number and hung up.

Then she rang Southland Hospital who confirmed she's still on the surgical wait list and they knew nothing about the phone calls.

This morning she's received another two calls, about an hour apart. I listened in to the second call and it seems dodgy to me. A woman with a heavy Indian accent was quite pushy in demanding information. Both times my friend said she would not provide personal information to someone using a blocked number, and hung up.

Given the recent ManageMyHealth fiasco, I've advised her to ring Health NZ to see if they can confirm that the calls are kosher.

Is this a scam targeting older people? Or just the Luxon government hiring an offshore call centre to try and reduce waiting lists?

Is anyone else getting these types of calls?

#HealthNZ #Scam #NZ

Mar 8 at 10:18pmWeb
Show threadKnee NeartMar 8

@BobLefridge I'm in the described demographic and haven't got any calls. Sounds scammy af. My experience as a rural patient has been that they love texts and emails, phonecalls aren't from private numbers.

Though I think they have asked identifying information, but not from blocked numbers and should certainly be able to read out the last address they had for you so they can send accessible info.

Show threadRobynMar 8

@BobLefridge
When people contacted me a while back it was all on anonymous cell phone numbers. I probably correctly assumed they were just having to use office cell phones, as calling mine from a landline would have cost per minute None of them were blocked, that would be more of a red flag. I might be more wary now.

Medical practices never expect me to know my NHI number. They are all able to look it up.
For confirming my identity they ask for things like date of birth and residential address.
[Edit clarity, correct minor errors and typo]

Show threadRobynMar 8
@BobLefridge
Oh and it was mostly text messages reninding me about my hospital appointment and telling me it was a phone appointment, don't come in (an appointment which I was unaware of, and did think might be a scam, until one of the finally kept the appointment) It was anaesthetic nurse doing a screening thing and she clearly had my notes in front of her.
Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKMar 8

@RedRobyn @BobLefridge

I don't know the exact rules in NZ/Aotearoa but with VOIP telephone circuits its not uncommon to be able to set your own outbound caller ID (for legitimate purposes) - reputable providers limit it to numbers where they've seen the bill or make you agree to not misuse the service, but not all VOIP providers comply.

In UK was also not uncommon for legit healthcare provider calls to use WITHELD / Anonymous because the outbound calls were being made from a different number to where inbound calls were received but this is far less common nowadays as healthcare facilities start using VOIP with presentation numbers enabled.

I would suggest reporting this to both the health authority and the Communications Ministry..

Show threadPaul H Mar 8
@vfrmedia @RedRobyn @BobLefridge Yes. In our experience calls from hospitals come up as 'Unknown Caller'. I think it's a privacy thing. it can be irritating when you are expecting a call back from the hospital and need to answer every 'Unknown caller' call.
Show threadAlex@rtnVFRmedia Suffolk UKMar 8

@paulhellyer @RedRobyn @BobLefridge

I set up telephone systems for various healthcare facilities (albeit slightly smaller ones).

For large hospitals this is usually done when the Telephone Exchange can't use presentation numbers on ISDN (a different CLID being presented to the actual number the call originates from) - this is a limitation of some digital exchanges widely used in both UK and NZ and they don't want return calls landing on an understaffed and overwhelmed hospital switchboard as opposed to the admin/call centre which books the appointments (which can be some distance from the actual hospital).

It should stop as more of these circuits are ceased and replaced with VOIP trunks..

Show threadSimon 🐮Mar 8
@BobLefridge I'm guessing a scam. HealthNZ people are rarely "pushy" about getting data
Show threadragectlMar 8
@BobLefridge sounds very much like a scam. Most people will ask for other information to lookup your NHI number.
Don't give out your NHI number. Legit medical staff will be able to look it up.
Try calling the Healthline number for NZ and report to them you have suspected scam calls. See if they have any information.
Show threadMoyaMar 9
@BobLefridge
I think I got one the other day. Can't be sure tho' as, anytime a blocked number comes up on my phone, I answer it with: "Good morning/afternoon. Asguard Police Station, Detective Inspector Loki speaking". The click on the end of the line usually lets me know it was probably a scammer.😉 😎
Show threadNagaramMar 9

@BobLefridge

I'm American, but I've never known a government to be so pushy about asking for information they theoretically already have.

At least here all they ask is for my name and date of birth and they have all the other records.

Does an NH number do anything other than healthcare stuff? Like with a name, address, dob, and NH number can they open a credit card?

Personally, I'd stop answering if you're worried. They'll leave a voicemail if it's real usually with names and numbers. If you don't recognize them then don't call back.