Northland DHB concerned about courier scam

Northland District Health Board would like to warn the public that a bogus courier driver who claims to be employed by the DHB does not work for the organisation.

A scam is apparently being perpetrated in Northland by a man who claims to be delivering medicine from the hospital, and using this as a cover to charge people for other deliveries, using Eftpos or credit cards. He has then apparently used their card details to steal money from their accounts.

Northland DHB does not deliver medication to homes and does not employ courier drivers to dispense medication. Additionally, all DHB employees or contractors carry an ID card with their name, department and photo, and any member of the public who is approached by someone under unusual circumstances should ask to see this identification.

The DHB would also like to warn that a person who is currently contacting members of the public in Northland, claiming to be the executor of a will and again using the DHB as cover, also has no association with the organisation.

This person, who claims to be a "medical administrator with the Northland District Health Board" is neither an employee nor a contractor. The DHB is aware that a number of letters have recently been sent or delivered to people in Northland, telling the recipient that they have been left money by a deceased person, and that the sender is the executor of the will.

The letter states that, in his capacity as a "medical administrator", the sender has access to a "private courier service which handles the secure movement of medical samples and confidential patient records between hospitals, medical centres and health care professionals". The sender states that he uses this service to deliver documents to the beneficiaries of the will, and that there is a "Verified Delivery Charge" to be paid.

Acting CEO, Jeanette Wedding, said: "I would like to make it clear that no such person exists and that the DHB does not operate any service as described by this person. We have referred this matter to the police and would like to ensure that people are not taken in by this apparent scam.

"We are very concerned that someone is using the DHB, or our hospitals, as cover in order to steal money from unsuspecting members of the public. We would like to make it clear that any person claiming to represent the DHB as a courier driver or in connection with courier services does not work for this organisation."
 

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For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315