The Illinois State Dental Society and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation are warning dentists of a new phone scam.
Five things to know:
1. Scammers are reportedly calling dentists pretending to be a staff member of the IDFPR or a member of law enforcement.
2. During the phone calls, scammers claim the dentist's license will be suspended or criminal charges will be filed unless a payment is made immediately.
3. Scammers may also ask dentists for their Social Security numbers.They may also make their phone number look like it's from the IDFPR, according to a July 11 news release from the Illinois State Dental Society.
4. The ISDS said the IDFPR and law enforcement do not contact dentists in this manner and advised dentists to never give out personal identification information if they did not initiate the call.
5. They also advised dentists to be wary of calls pressuring them to act immediately and provided a number dentists can call to verify calls from the IDFPR: 847-294-4900.