The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a fraud alert, warning that the OIG Hotline telephone number was being used in scams across the country. According to the OIG, the scammers pose as OIG Hotline employees and alter the caller ID to make it appear as if the call is coming from the OIG Hotline number. The scammer then tries to obtain or verify personal information, which could be used for fraudulent activities such as stealing money from bank accounts.
The OIG stressed that it does not use the OIG Hotline number to make outgoing calls and that no one should answer calls from 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477).