At least 41 health systems nationwide have warned patients about the phishing campaign, according to Becker's Hospital Review. The messages may offer free products like "MyChart Medicare Kits," "Medicare Health Kits," or "Senior Health Packages."
The scam often starts with an email or text that appears to come from MyChart, which is a patient portal developed by Epic Systems. Some emails use subject lines like "Your MyChart Medicare Kit Awaits!" and direct recipients to take a survey before paying a small shipping fee.
Epic reported more scammers using the MyChart name in late July.
"Some might try to steal your login information or promise free gifts if you enter payment details," wrote Trevor Berceau, Epic's director of research and development. "The increase in attempts is due to scammers taking advantage of the popularity of the MyChart brand rather than any security concern, so you can continue to use MyChart as normal. If something doesn't feel right, however, stop and check. The Staying Safe page on MyChart.org has a few simple habits that go a long way toward keeping you safe."
The Federal Trade Commission has received 166 consumer complaints related to MyChart, Gizmodo reported on Tuesday, Sept. 8. While not every complaint is related to phishing, many victims said they entered credit card information after believing the offers were legitimate.
One Illinois resident in their 70s said they completed a questionnaire and paid a shipping charge with a Mastercard before realizing the offer was fake.
"This is an obvious scam if they are trying to sell me the same thing twice," the victim said. "Now they have information about my card, so I will have to change that, along with my passwords for the card and email."
Another person in Minnesota said a supposed MyChart survey asked for credit card information to cover shipping, but they later noticed the transaction was listed as an animal or pet service.
"I immediately did a web search and read about all the scams pertaining to just what I had thought was a legit offer from MyChart," the complaint reads. "I am extremely upset and concerned that I am going to be a victim of medical/personal identity theft."
Several health systems across the Northeast have warned about MyChart scams:
- Beebe Healthcare - Lewes, DE
- Bon Secours Richmond Health System - Richmond, VA
- Boston Medical Center - Boston
- Greater Baltimore Medical Center - Baltimore
- Mass General Brigham - Somerville, MA
- Mount Sinai Health System - New York City
- Northwell Health - New Hyde Park, New York
- Penn Medicine - Philadelphia
- Sentara Health - Norfolk, VA
- St. Joseph Hospital - Nashua, NH
- UMass Memorial Health - Worcester, MA
- University of Rochester Medicine - Rochester, NY
- Virtua Health - Marlton, NJ
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday also issued a warning about the scam.
"Scammers are always looking for new ways to obtain as much of your personal information as possible," he said. "Stay on the lookout for this new scam tactic, and contact your medical office if you're not sure how to access the MyChart website assigned to your providers."
Users should be suspicious of unexpected messages offering free products or asking for passwords, Medicare information, credit card numbers, or shipping payments, according to ConsumerAffairs. MyChart advises people who entered credit card information on a fraudulent site to contact their bank and replace the card.
Anyone who downloaded or ran a program from a phishing site, or entered sensitive information, should disconnect the computer from the internet and have it inspected before using it to access personal, financial, or work accounts, according to Gizmodo.
Epic says it has about 305 million charts from patients in the US and more than a dozen other countries.
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