Remote pacing and cardiac monitoring devices – SCAM

We have received details of a particularly cruel phishing scam which is circulating at the moment and affecting people with remote pacing and cardiac monitoring devices.

A patient appears to have been the victim of an opportunistic phishing scam, and paid £167 over the telephone using his debit card to the caller.

The caller stated that his “box/equipment” was not working due to “Dust”. He was offered the opportunity to replace it and at the same time offered the option of purchasing either a five year warranty for £140 or lifetime warranty for £167. As the patient was due to have a routine remote check on his device by the Pacemaker clinic, the patient believed that the call was legitimate and therefore paid £167 to the caller. The patient and his partner were subsequently suspicious, so they called the Pacemaker clinic a few hours later to check if the problem had been fixed. The clinic explained it was not a call from the hospital or from the manufacturer of the equipment.

Clinics and device companies would never ask for personal details or charge for services.