Breast exam phone scam making rounds in Alberta

Alberta Health Services is warning women about a bizarre phone scam circulating in Edmonton and northern Alberta.

At least eight women have contacted Alberta Health Services in the last two weeks saying a man called claiming to be with a radiology clinic and asked them to perform a breast exam with him on the phone.

The reports have been coming from the Edmonton, Barehead and Athabasca regions.

Senior Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health Services Gerry Predy said that’s not to say other women aren’t getting these types of calls.

“These are the only people who have let us know, we don’t know how many of these calls have actually been made. That’s why we wanted to get this out to the public, so they are aware that if they do receive a call that they should let us know.”

Predy adds they want people to write down the time of day, any information on the call display, a phone number, what they said, and to try to determine a location if this individual contacts them.

“Unless we get some more information it’s going to be hard to actually identify the individual who is doing this.”

He explained AHS never talks about breast exams with patients over the phone, results are often sent by letter or discussed with their personal healthcare professional.

Many of the women who reported these incidents haven’t been screened recently, or are not in the Alberta Health Services Breast Exam program.

Those who receive these types of calls can contact their local police or call AHS at 1-866-727-3926.