Two area women think they have been the target of a would-be con artist. Someone who said they were taking a survey about area hospitals called two area residents.

One was an elderly woman who asked that her name not be used. She said a woman called her last Friday asking about local medical services. She said she had been sleeping when the call came, and felt she was unprepared for the questions they asked. After asking about hospitals, the woman said the caller asked about her finances. “She asked about our hospitals, how well I like the nursing staff and doctors, their testing equipment and things like that,” the resident told the Daily News. She said the “survey” then turned questionable.

SCAM

“They asked me my annual income, how my insurance covered emergency room visits and then asked for my social security number and my checking account number,” she said. “I gave it to them before I thought.”

The resident said she is in the process of working with the Social Security Administration and her bank to make sure no one has access to her accounts. The resident was upset and called a friend in the South Williamson area to talk about the call. The friend said she received a call from someone who claimed to be taking a survey days later.

“They called Sunday afternoon,” the second person said. “They said they were calling about a hospital survey.” She said she remembered her friends report about someone calling her saying the same thing, and so told the caller she didn’t have time to talk to them.

“I probably wouldn’t have been aware of this if [her friend] hadn’t told me they had called her,” she said. “Also, my husband was in the military, and we were never allowed to give information over the telephone, and I still don’t.”

Both women said they are sharing their stories in order to warn others. They said they are sharing their stories in the hope that no one would be taken in by con artists,