One of Ahmedabad and India’s best-known cardiologists, Dr Tejas Patel, has become the latest victim of cyber mischief and online ‘identity theft’. Dr Patel, chairman and chief interventional cardiologist at Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, and his team were in for a nasty surprise when Apex started getting hundreds of calls inquiring about treatment for varicose veins.
The staff at Apex Heart Institute tried explaining to the callers that their facility did not deal with varicose veins but to no avail, as the calls did not stop. Dr Tejas Patel, who has filed a complaint with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, told Vibes Of India that miscreants in New Delhi used his photos to cheat and mislead patients seeking treatment for varicose veins. “The police have launched a probe. Inquiries for varicose veins treatment have subsided after the Facebook post was removed,” Dr Patel, a Padmashri, said.
Dr Tejas Patel, who travels all over the world for medical conferences and has treated scores of VVIPs, including Pramukh Swami Maharaj, said that he had travelled to New Delhi along with his colleague Dr Sanjay Shah recently. After getting flooded with inquiries from patients from across India, Dr Patel realised a Facebook post with photos and contact details of Dr Shah and him was being circulated online, offering treatment for varicose veins. There were incidents of people visiting Apex Hospital as well.
An investigation led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ajit Rajia revealed that miscreants in New Delhi were behind the Facebook post.
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