PhilHealth: Doctors, health centers also prey to online scams

The holiday season comes with more than its fair share of scams, as some doctors and health facilities have discovered to their chagrin.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) said in an advisory that unscrupulous individuals pretending to be its employees had tricked some unsuspecting doctors and health facilities into shelling out money to them.

The scammers have been “misleading and deceiving health-care providers, including health facilities and health-care professionals into paying accreditation fees through GCash and other online payment platforms,” it added.

“We are issuing this advisory to alert all health-care providers and the general public about this ongoing fraudulent activity,” said PhilHealth, which also issued a reminder that health-care professionals applying for accreditation are not required to pay fees.

To be accredited, they are only required to register as PhilHealth members with updated premium contributions.

Health-care professionals may pay their premium contributions with the cashier unit of any PhilHealth local health insurance office or PhilHealth accredited collecting agent.

Health-care facilities applying for accreditation, on the other hand, have to pay accreditation fees, which they can settle with the cashier unit of any legitimate PhilHealth local health insurance offices.

Facebook accounts

“We are urging the public and all PhilHealth stakeholders to remain vigilant and cautious in conducting online transactions to avoid being victimized by deceitful acts,” PhilHealth said.

GCash, for its part, has been constantly reminding the public to be vigilant against scams.

“Never share your GCash MPIN or OTP (authentication code) with anyone. GCash or its representatives will never ask for your personal information unless you request help through the GCash Help Center,” the company said.

GCash also advised the public to watch out for online sellers who have little to no account history as they may not be legitimate.

They tend to create new accounts to continue their scamming activity even if they have been reported and blocked in the past. When buying through a Facebook page, check the page transparency to see when the page was created.

Very low prices

Fake sellers also sell their products at very low prices vs the average market price. When in doubt, check the price with at least two more sellers selling the same product, and buy within the average market price.

Fake sellers insist on immediate full payment. Check the payment terms of the seller and, when possible, transact with those that give you the option to pay after the product or service is rendered, GCash said.

As for donations, especially during this holiday season, donate only through official payment channels such as GCash. Avoid sending donations to personal accounts.

Also, only transact with trusted organizations. GCash has a list of trusted partner beneficiaries where you can donate to charity or organizations of your choice. This list includes partner organizations of GCash that have been active in donation drives.

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