March 4, 2020

The Board of Registration in Dentistry (BORID) has informed the MDS of an ongoing phone scam involving licensed dentists in the Commonwealth. BORID has received calls from dentists who say that an unidentified caller threatened them with dental license suspension if they did not immediately pay a fine by wiring money to an unnamed account, often overseas. The scammers’ caller ID was reported to have read “BORID” or the “Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” The callers present as official representatives of BORID and sound convincing because they know the targeted subject’s dental license number (note: dental license numbers are public information and readily accessible). Unfortunately, several Massachusetts dentists have already fallen victim to this scam, with one wiring $25,000 to an account in Singapore and another to an account in Hong Kong. 

The MDS and BORID warn if you do receive such a call, you should not engage with the caller. Instead, contact BORID to confirm the status of your license and whether or not disciplinary action is being pursued against you. You can contact BORID at 617.973.0971. If you have been the victim of this scam, you should report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint.