By Todd Wineburner

OSF Healthcare is warning area residents about calls that claim to be coming from their organization, but might, in fact, be scams.

According to OSF Healthcare Media Relations Coordinator Libby Allison, area residents have reported phone calls that indicated OSF Healthcare on caller ID systerms. The callers, however, were focused on obtaining social security numbers and other personal information rather than discussing health care.

Allison says that residents should be vigilant about such calls and should report any suspicious communication to the police. If you are waiting for contact from a physician with OSF, you should not engage with an unsolicited caller. You should instead hang up on the unsolicited call and make contact with OSF yourself to make sure that any information you receive is trustworthy.