AG warns of scammers posing as Pine Rest
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — If you’re seeking mental health treatment, the phone number you find online for Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services may not be the real one, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel warns.
Pine Rest administrators believe third parties have created fake online advertisements, falsely calling themselves Pine Rest but directing callers to a non-Pine Rest phone number. Then, the person on the other end of the line says Pine Rest has no services available and instead tries to send the caller to another provider, sometimes as far away as California, according to the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
“So, if you call and you’re trying to get treatment here in Michigan and they say you can’t because it’s full or because of COVID or whatever the reasons are and they’re trying to get you out of state, that is probably a scam,” Mariah DeYoung, director of substance abuse programs at Pine Rest, said in July.
The AG’s office is investigating, it said Thursday in a release.
“This scam heaps fake hurdles to mental health assistance upon already vulnerable individuals and could further burden them with significant unnecessary costs if they can afford to get the recommended out-of-state help,” Nessel said in a statement. “For those who could afford treatment close to home but not expensive out-of-state options, they may be deterred from treatment permanently.”
In a statement, Pine Rest thanked the Michigan Department of Attorney General for launching an investigation.
Paid advertisements falsely claiming to be affiliated with Pine Rest pose a real and significant threat to those in our community who are seeking treatment for substance use disorders. Targeting individuals who use mobile devices to search for Pine Rest’s contact information, the ads appear near the top of mobile search results and use carefully crafted language to direct individuals to contact third-party “brokers” for placement in services. Community members who contact these brokers have been asked to disclose sensitive personal and health information, have been falsely informed there are no openings for treatment in the local area, and have at times been instructed to travel across the country for services at their own personal expense.
Whether seeking treatment with us or with any other health care provider in our community, Pine Rest urges individuals to obtain contact information directly from a provider’s website and to use caution when asked to provide confidential personal or health information over the phone.
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
If you’d like to contact Pine Rest, the AG’s office says the real phone number is 800.678.5500.
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