Gransnet forums

Chat

Maybe a scam not sure what do you think ?

(20 Posts)
BlueBelle Mon 19-Oct-20 09:14:30

I ve just had an email from Patient Access (that s the way you can make GP appointments etc ) telling me that the means of access will be changing shortly Has anyone else had one of these? The reason I m doubting it as it refer to me by my first name Dear xxxxx but it’s not my first name the first three letters are but those first three letter are in my email address ??
Would they really send me a ‘dear first name‘ and would they really not know my first name which obviously I registered with

Bluebellwould Mon 19-Oct-20 09:16:21

Yep I’ve had one too. Just ignored it as I wasn’t sure either.

BlueBelle Mon 19-Oct-20 09:24:52

I have ignored it it doesn’t look right though does it ?

honeyrose Mon 19-Oct-20 09:26:45

I’ve not had such an email, but i’d be very wary of it. Wouldn’t you have had a letter rather than an email if this was genuine? Not sure, but be careful. Perhaps contact your GP’s surgery (if possible!) to see what they have to say, or a regulatory medical body (not sure what they’re called).

Marydoll Mon 19-Oct-20 09:28:10

Could you log into your Patient Access account and see if there are any notifications on your account?
That would be the first thing I would do.

Luckygirl Mon 19-Oct-20 09:32:22

I have had two of these and I am not with Patient Access!

fourormore Mon 19-Oct-20 09:40:23

If in any doubt treat any emails as scams these days - sad but sadly necessary.
As Marydoll suggests - if you log in (independently not from the email) there should be notifications.
Keep safe from these idiots everyone - they are getting craftier by the minute!

harrigran Mon 19-Oct-20 09:48:13

I had an email from them telling me to change my password, if you clicked on the link they would get access to your drugs and if on your phone access to everything on your mobile.
There appears to be nothing that these criminals will not try.

LauraNorder Mon 19-Oct-20 09:59:10

If in doubt rule it out.
My old French teacher used to say this long before computers and scammers and it goes through my head often.
Good advice from others to contact your surgery or log in to your account but obviously not through the email.
Thanks for the warning.

Beechnut Mon 19-Oct-20 10:17:58

I’ve just had one and it used my correct first name.

A couple of years ago I received an email from them for the first time (I can’t remember what it was about) and went to see the Practice Manager to see if it was genuine. He rang them and they confirmed it was.

Beechnut Mon 19-Oct-20 10:20:00

Mine started with

Hi my name

Froglady Mon 19-Oct-20 10:24:24

Thank you for this; I've had a couple of emails regarding this but just got round to doing anything. It never even entered my head that it might be a scam!
Just logged in to Patient Access with no problem at all so I'll just ignore these emails and assume it's a scam.

Froglady Mon 19-Oct-20 10:25:09

I meant to put that I hadn't got round to doing anything about the emails.

shysal Mon 19-Oct-20 10:26:58

Interesting! I had one too and believed it but didn't add a new memorable word as suggested. However, when I logged into my surgery from scratch to request my medication repeats there was no mention of the change.

jaylucy Mon 19-Oct-20 10:28:38

Easiest thing is to see where the email has been sent from. If you hover your arrow over the title of the email, the sender's address should be shown.
If it doesn't look right, ignore it!
Things like being incorrectly addressed to you at the beginning of an email is also a bit of a give away - if they can't be bothered to get that correct .......
I will say, having worked in a hospital for a while, all letters and emails have to be addressed using the correct form , by name, not "Dear Sir" or even "Dear patient"!
Just check on the website of where it has supposedly come from - GP surgery/Medical Centre or hospital, just to set your mind at rest - both will state if there have any changes either in their news or updates

harrigran Mon 19-Oct-20 10:30:57

I have just had another of these emails saying they are adding extra security and I will have to log in with memorable words. The name was correct but there again my whole name appears in my email address.

Daddima Mon 19-Oct-20 10:36:39

Just checked and got this! No name mentioned. I’ll just ignore it. It does say don’t contact your surgery, but they sent me an email telling me to contact my surgery to arrange a flu jab, and when I did the surgery weren’t doing jabs, and said that Patient Access is independent, and does its own admin.
I don’t really see what would be gained by hacking, but I do tend to ignore these things anyway, until I have to do something about it!

Daddima Mon 19-Oct-20 10:39:59

It does say that the ‘memorable word’ has not been introduced yet, so you will be able to log in just now.

Puzzler61 Mon 19-Oct-20 11:21:34

I don’t know about the possible e mail scam,
but recent trustpilot reviews on Patient Access are pretty damning of the system. Always be on the alert and question/report anything that doesn’t look or feel right.

Devorgilla Tue 20-Oct-20 13:55:18

Just had a couple of emails allegedly from DVLA data.gov.uk informing me to update my details as discrepancies have appeared. Swansea University is mentioned. Nope - don't think I'll bother. Be on the alert.