Member Alert: Internet scams targeting plastic surgeons abound
Have you received an email request from the dentist of a famous Italian model who is seeking a facelift? How about the one from the desperate, doting husband arranging breast reduction surgery for his wife (he writes: "though she is not in danger medically but I know this is a source of embarrassment for her as it shows no sign of reducing after we had spent so much time and money in gym") or the father seeking a surgical solution for his son's gynecomastia (the concerned father writes, in a suspiciously similar tone: "although he is not in danger medically but I know this is a source of embarrassment for him as it shows no sign of going away and he is not happy with it.")
If so, you may be staring in the face of an Internet scam targeting plastic surgeons. (For examples of the online scmas, click here).
"When I first received this email, my initial instinct was to try to help the patient," says ASPS President Phil Haeck, MD. "I didn't think to question how he found me because, being in Seattle, it's not uncommon to receive inquiries from neighboring states or Alaska - but once he started to suggest complicated methods for transferring funds, my antennae immediately went up."
Eventually, the concerned husband/father's inquiry culminates in a confirmation to schedule a consultation. It's followed by instructions to charge a credit card number in advance for several thousand dollars more than the price of the procedure. The remaining amount is to then be sent to another account for the "travel agent" who is arranging the trip.
"Never before have I had any requests like this, and it became immediately clear what was going on," says Dr. Haeck.
Plastic surgeons seem to be enticing targets for these sorts of fund-transfer schemes - certainly not because they are gullible, far from it - but because it's not uncommon for these specialists to collect fees in advance or consult via email with out-of-town or overseas patients (see cover story of the January/February issue of PSN).
And let's face it - from the scam artist's perspective, it also doesn't hurt that plastic surgeons tend to make a comfortable living and are presumed to have enough money in their accounts to cover a check for a few thousand dollars.
Recent months have seen an uptick in Internet schemes targeting plastic surgeons.
Another scam reported by multiple ASPS members involves the purported "cosmetic dentist" of an Italian model seeking a facelift who was referred to the plastic surgeon by an oral surgeon in the area. Again, eventually the request for a consult becomes a request for cash.
When P.K. Sharma, MD, received the Italian model email, he decided to follow the lead to see how far it would go. Before long, he was being asked to cash a large check from a modeling agency in New York, keep a portion as an advance on the surgical fee, and send a large portion of it back to the model so she could pay for some vital photography equipment in Hong Kong. Ultimately, the Italian agency would cover the cost of the surgery.
"She kept sending me emails - How are you? How was your weekend? - so I deposited her bank check, which came from a large, well-known banking institution; at that point, everything seemed normal," says Dr. Sharma. "That bank check cleared because I had enough in my account to cover it. Following that, sent me the routing instructions and where to wire the extra money."
Little did they know, however, Dr. Sharma had also shared their information with a friend who happens to be a detective specializing in bank fraud.
"The routing and account numbers belonged to a Nigerian person and the money was going to Indonesia," Dr. Sharma says. "This was clearly suspicious, so I didn't wire the money as the 'model' had requested. I also checked with the local hotel where she said she had registered – and they had no record of her. Not surprisingly, three weeks later, I received a notice from my bank that the amount of her bank check would have to be removed from my account because her check did not clear. There was no question that I was dealing with a fraud."
In recent months, ASPS members have also reported receiving similar emails from Nigerian models seeking surgery - again offering the surgeon a check for more than the amount of the surgery, of which the practice was instructed to send a refund - a new twist on an old classic scam listed on the Internet as the "419 scam."
The ruse, which is not limited to plastic surgeons, essentially preys on the allure of easy money - except by the time the bank informs the target of the scam that the deposited check is not worth the paper it's printed on, the refund has already been wired to the perpetrator (usually someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince) - leaving the victim out of pocket.
Another increasingly common ploy involves a thief hacking into (or "spoofing") email accounts and then sending requests for money under the guise of the name and email account of an acquaintance who is traveling abroad but has lost his or her wallet or purse and desperately needs cash to get home. If you receive an email request of this sort from another plastic surgeon (or friend, relative, etc.), don't wire any money. Instead, try calling the person. Odds are good that you will find them safe at home and completely unaware that their email has been compromised. They will appreciate the opportunity to inform the rest of their list of contacts that all is well (and then change their email address).
"The scams seem to be getting more sophisticated," says Dr. Haeck. "The request to help the boy with gynecomastia even included a photo of the patient's chest. Of course, it turned out to be copied from a gynecomastia website - but the perpetrators are getting creative."
Below are several examples of common e-mail scams targeting plastic surgeons:
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ITALIAN MODEL/DENTIST SCAM (AND FOLLOW-UP DIRECTIONS)
From: Roberto Benetto <therapiabenetto@suomi24.fi>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:48:37 +0100 (CET)
Subject: Enquiry for a Plastic Surgeon
Greetings from Milan!
My name is Mr Roberto Benetto, I am a cosmetic dentist here in Italy. I do smile makeovers, preventive Dentistry/Maintenance, cosmetic dentistry, costmetic Dentures, etc. I have lots of happy clients here in italy..
I have been looking for a plastic surgeon for over a week now till i met an old friend last week that referred you to me. Her name is Mrs. Serah, she used to live in American before she relocated here with her family. So i decided to contact you to know if you will be able to do a Mini face lift surgery for my client.
My clients name is Ms Jenny Pirez, shes is a model here in Italy. She will be coming to the U.S in 3 weeks time for a modeling job and will be residing in California temporarily until the neccesary arrangements for her job has been made before she leaves, She would need you to help her out with the Mini face lift Surgery before her photo shoot job in 8 weeks time.
Please tell me a little more about your self, how long have you been a surgeon? Would you be able to do a Mini face lift surgery for her between the 10th - 20th of next Month?
Do let me know if you would be available to do the Surgery on those dates and the amount you charge for a Mini face lift and also let me know if she can pay you with a certified cashiers check drawn from a US bank so you can have her scheduled before her arrival.
Do send your reply to my personal email address { robertobenetto@yahoo.it } for a quick response as i do not check this always.
You can view some of Ms Pirez Pictures from the link below:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/1436588/viewall
Till I read from you
remain blessed.
Roberto Benetto
143 Via Mercato,
1,26129
Milan, Italy
THE FOLLOW-UP
From: Roberto Barretti [mailto:barretti.roberto@yahoo.it]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 5:38 AM
To: Teresa Honeycutt
Subject: Message from Ms Gabriela
Greetings,
How is your week going? Hope all is well with you? Am very sorry for the late reply, I was away to Verona for my daughters wedding and just returned, Am very pleased to read from you, Hope you having a nice time over there, I am doing great here, you sound like a very nice person am sure Ms Gabriela will love your work.
I sent a copy of the message you sent me to Ms Gabriela and she is very happy you will be available to do the Surgery, She said she would call you sometime next week so that you can go over all the details you might and also email you some pictures.
Ms Gabriela Speaks English so am sure you will not have problems with communication, Said she she would like the Surgery to be done within 2 weeks as she would be doing her photo shoot 2 weeks after the Surgery.
She would confirm her reservations in the hotel below next week, Pls let me know if this hotel is close to you? Once you confirm everything is fine with you i will ask her to email you with more details and Pictures.
Sheraton Hotel
About Payments, She said the company she wanted to buy her photo shoot Equipments from In New York called and told her the Equipments she ordered for are not functioning well. so the company would be giving her back the refund.... She said she would ask the company in NY to make the refund in your name so that when you receive the refund you deduct your payments and you help her wire the rest of the funds to the Equipments rental manager in Asia on her behalf so that her Photo shoot equipments can be delivered to her hotel before her arrival and if you would need a compersiation for that, it should not be a problem.
She asked me to ask you if she can tell the Company in NY to make the refund in your name so that when they overnight the payments to you,you deduct your payments and you help her wire the rest to the Photo shoot Equipment company in Asia via bank transfer before her arrival.
I will give you all the details and direction on how to handle the funds when the check is sent to you so you need not worry about that. Pls do let me know if you will be able to assist her with that?
If you can help her out with the refund, i would need you to email her the details below so she can pass it to the Company in New York to make the refund in your name and overnight it to you via Fedex so you can have her booked.
Pls send the details below to her email { gbarros28@yahoo.com }
1) Name on check:.......................
2) Address check will be sent to:.........................
3) Phone Number to call on delivery: .......................
4)Total amount for your job...............
You can reach Ms Gabriela on her office phone incase you have any questions: 448711950692
Till i read from you,
Remain blessed
Roberto
Comment from a target of the scam: "We were almost scammed by both the dentist story and an Italian Model needing a breast augmentation-she even sent naked photos in the notmal pre-op poses! We let it go to the point that we actually received a check drawn on a Citibank account-I called the bank and they did verify the account but asked me to fax a copy of the check-which was a fraud-their words "close,really close but no cigar!" after responding to the model that I had received the check but not taking the next step of depositing it and then mailing the 10K excess to a talent booking agent in Pittsburg I received a phone call from a man with a heavy accent (not Italian!) asking about the check being depositeThey disappeared after I told them we were not depositing the check-I was most surprised by the bank's response-very blasé even though it was a legitimate account number. Once again-always trust your instincts."
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WIFE NEEDS A TUMMY TUCK SCAM (AND FOLLOW-UP DIRECTIONS)
From: Habib Farki [mailto:habibfarki@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 4:00 AM
Subject: INQUIRY
Hello,
I want to make inquiry about the possibility of performing a surgery on my wife.
she needs a tummy reduction surgery to trim down her tummy.She heard our last child 8 years ago and we do not intend to have another one. Her name is Muna and she is 41 years old. I will like to know the cost for the operation and booking procedures. She intends to arrive on 10th of April.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Habib Farki.
THE FOLLOW-UP:
Hello,
Am glad to hear from you again,am happy to inform you that i have considered the price it is what i can afford. So i will like to let you know that i will be sending you my credit card information so that you will charge it with your POS machine.
Below are what you would do as soon as you receive the card details.
1 You will charge the sum of 11,000 US from my card.
2 You will keep 4,000 US for part payment for the surgery while the remaining balance would be paid on their arrival or on request.
3 Then the remaining Balance of 7,000 US would be send to My Logistic Agent that would organize for their travel ,Accommodation,flight ticket and other miscellaneous expenses through your local transfer.this measure have to be taken because my Agents has no credit card facility to process my card and not also comfortable disclosing my card information to a third party.
Note that am releasing my card for you on trust.
So kindly reconfirm and get back to me with the following information if this is ok by you. I attached a digital picture of her abdominal region.
1 Your Phone numbers for easy communication
2 Your fax numbers
My regards.
Mr Habib Farki
+447024093906
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TUMMY TUCK WITH ADDITIONAL SPA SERVICES SCAMFrom: CHUKIN TAM [mailto:tchukintam@rocketmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 4:26 AM
Subject: Surgery And Spa Booking Request
Good Morning ,
My name is Engr. Chukin Tam. I wish to make an enquiry for surgical attention for my wife and daughter with your firm. My wife needs a breast surgery while my daughter needs dental surgery. Do you offer both servuces , if so could you please get back to me so that we can proceed with the details as well as the payment arrangements to secure the consultation.
Also , can you please confirm if you accept credit card payments , as I will be paying wiht my master/visa credit cards.
Additionally , we will also need some spa services. Do you render this service too , if not could you please get back to me with the contact information for any spa directory in your city.
We will like to make the consultation and booking from the May of 2nd 2011 to the 6th of May 2011
Chukin Tam
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Have you been the target of an Internet scam? Tell us about it at PSN@plasticsurgery.org.
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