Southwest Florida residents are being warned about providing credit card, bank, or other personal information to callers claiming to represent EMS billing or other county departments.
A resident recently alerted the Charlotte County's Fire & EMS headquarters, stating they were contacted via phone by a party claiming to have an EMS billing refund due to overpayment and requesting the caller's banking information so they could receive the refund amount.
“Our EMS billing department would never ask for your financial information. If a customer is due a refund, your refund will be issued by check and sent in the mail,” said Charlotte County Senior EMS Billing Specialist Jill Turner.
If a resident has a question about EMS billing, they should call our EMS billing department at 941-833-5613.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office warns against providing payment information by phone to an unverified caller.
“Scammers often try to elicit an emotion from their victims in order to create a sense of urgency; they may convince the victim that the situation is dire and a payment is needed immediately to avoid a penalty, fine, or even arrest,” said Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Chris Hall. “Never provide personal information or any kind of payment (to include credit/debit cards, bank account information, gift cards, digital currency, etc.) to anyone unless you know with 100% certainty who they are. You can report scam attempts to the Federal Trade Commission authorities at www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts. If you fall victim to a scam, please contact the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office at 941-639-2101.”
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