La Mesa patient warns of scam calls while recovering in hospital

A La Mesa woman is warning others after she said she received multiple scam calls while recovering from surgery at a San Diego County hospital, raising concerns about patient safety and privacy.

Spam Surprise

Anita Fritz said the calls came while she was staying at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, shortly after a medical procedure left her feeling groggy and vulnerable.

Fritz said she initially thought the call was from a family member.

“But when I picked up the phone, the person said, ‘What is your Social Security number?’ ” Fritz said. “And I’m like, ‘Huh?’ And I do remember asking, ‘Well, who are you?’ ”

Fritz said the caller refused to identify, prompting her to hang up.

Still unsure whether it might have been a legitimate request from hospital staff or her insurance company, Fritz remained concerned. That is, until more calls started coming into her room.

“I can hear the background noise,” Fritz said. “It sounded like a call center, and he said, ‘I would like to know your bank account number so I could deposit a check into your bank account.’ ”

Fritz said she received at least six calls before unplugging the phone in her hospital room to stop them.

What local hospitals say

Sharp HealthCare said these types of calls are rare, but acknowledged the challenge of preventing them:

“Sharp HealthCare is committed to patient privacy and does not release protected patient information without written consent. This does not prevent scam callers from reaching a patient via random number dialing. Because scam calls are unfortunately common, it is important for consumers to take steps to protect themselves and their personal information when answering calls on any phone line.”

Other San Diego-area hospitals shared how their phone systems work.

Scripps said patients typically share their room numbers with family and friends, and that reported spam numbers can be blocked:

“When specific number(s) are reported to us as spam or harassing in nature, we can block the reported number(s) from reaching our internal stations, provided the caller is using the same number and is not masking or blocking their caller ID. There are other methods we can use to help mitigate issues involving a specific internal phone number. The first option is to change the direct number assigned to the room receiving the complaints. The second option is to place the patient room phone number behind a brief pause and short menu prompt requiring the caller to confirm they intend to reach a patient. This disrupts the expected answering behavior that spam auto-dialer systems rely on to connect the telemarketer.”

UCSD Medical Center confirmed that patients can also receive phone calls directly, but they are not experiencing this issue.

Kaiser Permanente said its system requires operator assistance to connect calls to patients:

“Calls transferred to patient rooms are not through an automated system but rather must be transferred by an operator at our medical center who can only do so if the caller provides first and last name of patient.”

Fritz said she is relieved to be home and recovering, but hopes her experience serves as a warning — especially for older adults who may be more vulnerable to scams and telemarketers.

Reports indicate similar incidents have happened at hospitals across the country, not just in San Diego, highlighting the need for patients and families to stay alert.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.