How to Avoid Rehab Scams: Red Flags to Look Out For?

Patient brokering is a middleman that supposedly finds treatment based on your budget. Not only is this a low morality method, but it’s likely a scammer looking to take your money and run. It’s best to avoid any source claiming to be a rehab broker. In the best-case scenario, you’re dealing with low-quality care and low standards of operation. Avoiding them altogether spares you the pain of both outcomes.

Recovery center listings are great ways to find good quality treatment but with a caveat. You have to find the right resources. Make sure your recovery center directory is a valid one as there are far too many fraud listings out there meant to trick you. So how do you know a listing is valid? It’s usually easy to spot if something is out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, it’s best to use our reliable rehab resources to ensure you have all the answers to your questions.

If a source claims to pay for expenses like travel or treatment without referencing insurance, it’s too good to be true. Rehab facility expenses and frontage costs are supported solely depending on what your insurance covers. A rehab center can estimate the potential that some aspects may be covered by insurance. However, they cannot tell you what is and isn’t paid for without directly consulting with you and your insurance company.

If you haven’t signed up for newsletter notifications, yet get rehab ad texts or emails, it’s likely a scam. Reputable rehab sources will not contact you without your consent. In these cases, do not click or respond to the text or email as they are intended to phish a response, enabling them access to sensitive information. Immediately report it as spam and disregard the advertisement.

Once you provide a scammer with your credit card information, they have immediate access to your funds. This trickles into potentially compromising your bank and credit card accounts. This can also lead to obtaining other sensitive personal information. This includes any associated passwords, emails, or social security numbers tied to your bank accounts.

This is not the same as the previous point. There are varying degrees of compromised bank accounts. This can lead to serious financial ruin. Sadly, most banks are not held responsible for victims of rehab scams. This can result in possessions loss including your home. That’s why it’s vitally important to strongly consider a decision before you click or call a suspicious source.

Identity theft is the worst-case scenario of falling for rehab scams. As much as we don’t like to consider this scary thought, identity theft is a very present danger. As tech advances, so does the ever-growing opportunity and prevalence of identity thieves. When identity theft occurs, it includes more than just your bank records. It involves compromised social security numbers, emails, and everything involving your name. Prevent potential identity theft by avoiding these scams altogether.

Once a rehab scammer has your vital information, you’ll see increased spam volume. There are added measures you can take to get on a no-contact spam list. Most importantly, getting your name and information cleared from these self-compromising listings means you’ll have to coordinate with the appropriate channels to ensure personal security.

Reputable rehab sources always have specific listings of the care they provide. Scams will be very vague and uninformative as they are seeking to cast a wide net with very minimal knowledge of the field. If a website has direct listings such as outpatient care, detox programs, and other in-depth information, you know you’re on the right track.

Most recovery centers have a section on their website with staff member listings in the “About Us” page or “Meet Our Staff” section. Do your due diligence and research the qualifications and credentials of their treatment team. Any reliable source will have an extensive background in psychology and/or rehab treatment.

Reliable sources go the extra mile in providing thorough treatment by offering aftercare options. For example, a truly dedicated care team will offer options like sober living or outpatient treatment. If you see any aftercare options along these lines then you know you’re in good hands.

Another strong indication of a high-quality care team is a facility that stresses the importance of personalized treatment methods. This attentive and compassionate therapy approach is the most vital to ensure patients get all the top-notch tools they need to thrive. A team that offers this will have it mentioned throughout their website and exhibited in their core treatment goals.