PHILADELPHIA, PA — Penn Medicine and Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday are warning patients about a nationwide phishing campaign impersonating MyChart, with fraudulent emails and text messages designed to steal passwords and personal information by offering nonexistent health-related rewards.
The scam targets users of MyChart, the patient portal used by hospitals and health care providers to give patients access to medical information and communication tools. Penn Medicine reported that some messages advertise a free “MyChart Medicare Kit” or “Senior Health Package” and direct recipients to fraudulent links.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General separately warned that no “MyChart Medicare Kit” program or reward exists. According to the office, the messages attempt to obtain passwords and other personal information that could allow scammers to gain access to patients’ MyChart accounts.
“Scammers are always looking for new ways to obtain as much of your personal information as possible,” Sunday stated. “Stay on the lookout for this new scam tactic, and contact your medical office if you’re not sure how to access the MyChart website assigned to your providers.”
Penn Medicine advised patients not to click links or buttons in suspicious messages, including purported “unsubscribe” links, and not to forward the messages. Recipients should instead mark suspicious emails or texts as spam or junk.
Patients should also be skeptical of messages offering free products or prizes. Penn Medicine reported that MyChart does not offer giveaways in exchange for health information and will not send unsolicited instructions directing users to “fix” or “unlock” an account.
Penn Medicine will never request a patient’s MyChart password or verification codes by phone, text or email, according to the health system. Patients should enter those credentials only through the official MyChart by myPennMedicine or MyLGHealth websites.
Legitimate MyChart by myPennMedicine emails come from myPennMedicineInfo@uphs.upenn.edu, while its text messages use short code 38064. MyLGHealth emails come from MyLGHealth_NOREPLY@lghealth.org, and its text messages use short code 84629.
Patients who clicked a suspicious link or provided information should reset their MyChart password as soon as possible, Penn Medicine advised.
Anyone uncertain about whether a message is legitimate can contact the MyChart by myPennMedicine help desk at 866-614-7606 or the MyLGHealth help desk at 717-544-2860. Penn Medicine reported that MyChart support is available around the clock.
Additional information about MyChart fraud and account security is available at https://www.mychart.org.
Pennsylvania consumers who believe they were victimized can contact the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555 or scams@attorneygeneral.gov.
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