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May 17, 2008

Local hospice warns of possible scam

By Patrick McCreless

PATRICKM@CULLMANTIMES.COM



A woman impersonating a hospice worker recently scammed several Marshall County residents out of their money and the Hospice of Cullman County wants to ensure the same thing does not happen here.

“Marshall County is not too far away for somebody to come here and try that,” said Kendra Williams, marketing and PR secretary for Hospice of Cullman County.

Williams said a Hospice of Cullman County board member found out about the scam after reading about it in a Marshall County newspaper.

Williams said the woman, who is described as being thin with blonde hair and approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, went from door to door in Marshall County claiming she was accepting donations on behalf of the local hospice.

“In every case she’d give a real sad story for patients not having money for bills and food,” Williams said. “Many would give her money right there. I think that this lady was getting quite a bit of money from it.”

Cullman County Sheriff Tyler Roden said his office has not received any reports concerning the scam but that similar scams have been reported in the past.

“We have seen such a variety of different scams and fraudulent tactics,” Roden said. “Most of the time it’s telemarketing related but from time to time we get reports of this nature.”

Roden said he received a report Thursday from a citizen who said she got a phone call from an organization called the Nationwide Verification Security Bureau.

“They said her checking information had been stolen and they needed to verify she had the right account,” Roden said. “They wanted her account number ... clearly that was a scam.”

Williams said the hospice scam would be easy to identify since a real hospice employee would never travel from door to door and ask for donations.

“The only reason a hospice employee would go to a house was if a patient was there or to conduct an evaluation of a possible patient,” Williams said.

The Hospice of Cullman County, which is non-profit, receives the majority of its funding from United Way. Donations are only accepted by mail or through the hospice’s web site.

Williams added that a true hospice employee always wears scrubs and an identification badge when on the job. The badge will have a picture of the employee, their name and job title.

Roden said there are ways residents can protect themselves from possible scams.

“It’s okay to verify before you give and get contact information on who it is that’s soliciting,” Roden said. “And don’t feel compelled to do it (give) right at that moment.”

If anyone suspects they have been scammed, they should contact local law enforcement immediately.

“Call and let us know so we can try to get the word out to the community,” Roden said.

The Hospice of Cullman County is part of Cullman Regional Medical Center and provides various services including visits by nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers, medications prescribed for symptom and pain control related to the patient’s diagnosis for hospice care and medical supplies related to the patient's diagnosis for hospice care.





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