Bogus NHS Dental Website Defrauds Patients Seeking Appointments

Trading Standards officers report that hundreds of individuals may have fallen victim to a fraudulent scheme that advertised NHS dental appointments at a non-existent practice in Lincoln. The website, operating under the name “The Dental Practice Lincoln,” requested personal information, including passport numbers, and processed bank or credit card payments to secure these appointments. Emma Milligan of Lincolnshire Trading Standards stated that the precise number of individuals affected by the scam, which exploited the public’s urgent need for NHS dental services, remains unknown to her team. She explained that the site’s appeal lay in its promise: “we’ll get you a place, if you send us your personal details; if you send us money, we’ll get you an NHS dentist, and that’s what’s drawn people in.” Paul Bowring was one of the individuals who registered, describing his discovery of a Facebook post about the new dentist as “an absolute dream come true.” He and his wife had been trying to find a new NHS dentist for approximately six years, ever since their previous practice transitioned to private care. In their haste to register with the fraudulent practice, they provided personal details, including their passport numbers. Mr. Bowring commented, “We’re normally the ones telling our families to be careful about scams, but they hit us with exactly what we were after and we were thinking ‘we’ve got to do it now’.” He added, “We sent the information because we wanted to have that dentist.” Mr. Bowring expressed concern that their personal data had been compromised, necessitating that he inform credit agencies, cancel their passports, and incur a cost of £200 for replacements. He characterized the perpetrators as “awful people who are preying on people’s vulnerabilities,” further stating, “It doesn’t stop us feeling daft, but I think it’s something that’s caught out hundreds of people.” Lincolnshire Trading Standards noted that similar websites have promoted NHS appointments at fictitious practices in Norfolk and West Yorkshire. Trading standards officials characterized the scam as “clever,” highlighting that the website displayed a photograph of a legitimate dentist based in south-west England, who was unaware their identity had been misused. “The Dental Practice Lincoln” website informed patients they would be seen starting in December at a former GP practice located on St Catherine’s, Lincoln. Trading Standards confirmed that the building’s owners were not aware their address was being used. Additionally, the website required new patients to provide credit card or bank details for advance payment of their initial appointment. Eddie Crouch, Chair of the British Dental Association, advised: “No dental practice would really ask you for details like your passport number and it’s pretty unusual for most NHS dental practices to take payment in advance, so when you see those signs and are asked for those on any website, you should immediately be worried that perhaps the site is not legitimate.” He suggested using the NHS website Find a Dentist, though he acknowledged that the information there can sometimes be outdated, leading patients to seek easier alternatives to the “frustration” of numerous phone calls. “It’s no surprise really with, we think, 13 million people out there looking for an NHS appointment at the moment, that these people are very vulnerable to being scammed,” Mr. Crouch remarked. Ms. Milligan, manager of Lincolnshire Trading Standards, revealed that officers received alerts about the website from relatives and council employees, expressing concern over “how much personal data” had been amassed. She confirmed that individuals across all age groups had been ensnared by the scam. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re older or younger. If you think ‘wow, there’s some places for an NHS dentist, I want to get myself and my kids in to that place’, it’s created that urgency,” she explained. She reiterated the scammers’ tactic: “They said, ‘if you send us your personal details, if you send us money, we’ll get you an NHS dentist’ and that’s what’s drawing people in.” Ms. Milligan observed that online scams have grown increasingly sophisticated, recommending that people “take a step back and do a little bit of research” before providing personal information. She advised anyone who has shared financial details to contact their bank, and those who suspect they are victims of this scam to seek guidance from the Citizens Advice Bureau or CIFAS websites. Her team has yet to ascertain the total number of individuals who registered with the fraudulent site, and she fears that some may not discover their appointments are fake until they attempt to attend them in December.