By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
I was recently contacted by a nurse practitioner client of mine who had received an alarming telephone call on her cell phone from someone identifying himself as a criminal investigator with the Florida Board of Nursing. She is authorized to write prescriptions, and this is noted on her publicly available license information (as well as common knowledge). The caller advised her that her license was being illegally used in another state to write illegal prescriptions and that her nursing license was suspended.
The caller then tried to explain this to her in such a way that it did not sound totally and completely absurd, but she was smart enough not to fall for the trick. The caller also tried to keep her on the phone and tried to get her to talk to his colleagues, obviously to try to convince her and to attempt to extort money from her.
An Oldie but a Goodie–One of the Classic Cons.
I have heard of physicians and other licensed health professionals receiving such scam telephone calls over the past few years, but I thought they had ceased until this happened just several days ago at the beginning of March 2025.
Thank goodness the nurse practitioner had enough sense not to continue talking to the caller and telephoned me right away.
This scam is called the “Legal Action Scam” and sometimes the “Process Server Scam.” Often the caller notifies you there is a warrant for your arrest for a missed court appearance, an unpaid parking ticket, or something else similar.
The object of this con is to shock you into thinking that you are or will be in trouble if you don’t pay a “bond,” a “court cost” or a “fee” of some type immediately, over the telephone, to hold off whatever legal action is being threatened against you. Often the initial amount will only be a small amount such as $121.50. The goal is to obtain your credit card or debit card number and then, within a few minutes, they will have your bank account cleaned out or your credit card maxed out.
Warning Signs to Watch Out For.
These are the warning signs:
- It begins with a phone call. Come on! Nothing legal happens over the phone! You know that! If you are being investigated for something, the investigator is not going to call and give you a heads up so you can flee.
- The caller makes every effort to keep you on the phone.
- The caller attempts to instill a sense of emergency on you to do something right away. (The caller does not want to give you any time to check and verify the facts.)
- The caller will give you fake badge numbers, fake division numbers and other fake details to try to convince you the call is real. They may even use the real names of real agents and real individuals if these are available to the public.
- The caller will attempt to bring other individuals on the line to verify what he says. (Remember, “there is strength in numbers.”)
- The caller will then give you instructions on how to make some kind of payment for some reason, usually by credit card or debit card, by giving him access to your bank account, by having you purchase and send cash cards or gift cards, or by having you meet someone some place with cash.
What to do if you receive such a call.
The absolute best thing to do is to hang up immediately and block the number that is calling you, before you give the caller any information at all. Then don’t worry about it any more.
Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Health Care Professionals and Providers.
At the Health Law Firm, we provide legal services for all health care providers and professionals. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, home health agencies, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, pain management clinics, nursing homes, and any other healthcare provider. It also includes medical students, resident physicians, and fellows, as well as medical school professors and clinical staff. We represent health facilities, individuals, groups, and institutions in contracts, sales, mergers, and acquisitions. The lawyers of The Health Law Firm are experienced in complex litigation and both formal and informal administrative hearings. We also represent physicians accused of wrongdoing, patient complaints, and in Department of Health investigations. We do NOT represent plaintiffs in COVID-19 injury suits, however.
To contact The Health Law Firm, please call our office at (407) 331-6620 or toll-free at (888) 331-6620 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.
About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law; he is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Avenue, Suite 1000, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620 Toll-Free: (888) 331-6620.
“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 2025 George F. Indest III, The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any way in any medium without the written permission of the copyright owner. The author of this work reserves the right to have his name associated with any use or publication of this work or any part of it.
