UK NEWS

FAKE DOCTORS' NOTES SOLD ON THE INTERNET FOR £25

CLICK TO GO SICK: The site offers genuine-looking doctors' notes on NHS paper

Wednesday August 27,2008

By Tom Morgan

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FAKE doctors’ notes are being sold on the internet to workers who use them to take weeks of paid sick leave.

The documents, written on NHS notepaper and with an authentic stamp, cost £25 and are almost identical to a genuine
letter from a GP or hospital.

Signed and printed with real doctors’ names, they include an illness of the customer’s choice, the number of sick days required and the medical facility supposedly attended.

Selling the notes is not illegal – but anyone using them to take paid leave could be prosecuted said the NHS fraud squad, which is investigating.

The doctorsnotestore.com website carries a disclaimer saying the documents should only be used for “entertainment”. But it includes comments from satisfied customers who have used the notes to throw sickies.

I have claimed a full refund on my holiday from my insurance using one of your excellent doctor’s letters.

A customer

One wrote: “My employer didn’t suspect a thing. I could have been fired for missing two weeks of work. It was wonderful doing business with you. Thank you!”

Another claims: “I have been using your service for five years – I get an extra two weeks holidays every year.”

Others are using the notes to claim insurance payouts. One customer wrote: “I have claimed a full refund on my holiday from my insurance using one of your excellent doctor’s letters.”

The scam could cost employers thousands of pounds but would be hard to stop, said a spokeswoman for the Department for Work and Pensions. She said: “As the site has a disclaimer it would be really difficult to bring anything against them.”

But the NHS fraud squad said using the notes for “payment or advantage” – for example, taking paid time off – was illegal. A spokesman said it would “pursue vigorously” anyone caught using the notes.

The website, run by MDM Enterprises Group (South Africa) Limited, also sells fake solicitors’ letters and holiday insurance claims.