Scammers are “preying” on people desperate to secure an appointment with an NHS dentist.
People are falling victim to fake websites offering NHS dental appointments secured through a pre-payment system, the British Dental Association (BDA) has warned.
The organisation has said scammers have targeted people in Essex, Devon, Merseyside, Norfolk and Suffolk, taking up to £319.10 for care.
The warning comes after con artists set up a fake website last month for a new dentists called Dental Practice Hellesdon and advertised much-coveted NHS patient slots for a mere £20 registration fee.
Maria Claire, who lives in Heartsease with her partner and eight-year-old daughter, was one of the people who was caught out by the scam.
It was after a post on Facebook first got her attention, saying a surgery in Hellesdon was accepting new NHS patients.
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"Our family have not had a dentist for years I wanted to get in as soon as possible,” she said.
"It asked for a registration fee of £20 to guarantee a spot - which I didn't think was unusual - so I went ahead with the earliest appointment of January 17.
"When I booked I even got an invoice through afterwards.
"The next day I happened to see another post about it being a scam and after checking out the address - 309 Reepham Road - it showed up as an empty shop."
Brown & Co, the letting agents for the building, confirmed that the building is currently empty with no agreement for a dentist to take over the site.
BDA chairman Eddie Crouch called for “urgency” from the government.
In the run up to July’s general election, Labour made a manifesto commitment to create 700,000 new urgent and emergency dental appointments.
“Criminals are now preying on desperate patients left with no options,” Mr Crouch said.
“We need real urgency and ambition from Labour on NHS dentistry. Fraudsters will keep seeing real opportunities as long as the new government’s promises remain unkept.”
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