'Preying on poor people:' Who is Nurse Albert and why does he want your Medi-Cal number?

A man on an e-bike has been distributing envelopes containing $15 in cash while taking blood pressure in the Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods. He calls himself Nurse Albert and asks for personal information, including Medi-Cal numbers. San Francisco health institutions and social service organizations, including the Department of Public Health and University of California, San Francisco, report they do not know who he works for. Witnesses saw him near 15th and Julian streets, an area where people also line up for free meals from a nonprofit. A nonprofit executive director warned people not to share details, saying Medi-Cal numbers can enable continued billing. Outreach workers said the behavior resembles scams targeting people seeking services near city-contracted nonprofits.

"A man on an e-bike has been pedaling through the Tenderloin and Mission neighborhoods this spring, handing out envelopes with $15 in cash. He calls himself Nurse Albert, takes people's blood pressure and, in exchange, their personal information - including Medi-Cal numbers."

"Lydia Bransten, the executive director of the Gubbio Project, and a Mission Local reporter saw Nurse Albert handing out money in late March, near 15th and Julian streets in the Mission. It's an intersection where people often line up for a free meal from El Centro Latino, another nonprofit. Bransten was concerned. She approached and warned people not to share their details."

""I felt like it was not legitimate," she said. "In this particular case, what's really dangerous is they're getting people's information." With a Social Security or Medi-Cal number, "you can continue billing Medi-Cal for that person, whether they're being seen or not," she added."

"Mission Local is not sure of Nurse Albert's identity or his credentials, if he has any; he declined to share his name. But multiple outreach workers warned that the behavior witness by Mission Local was reminiscent of scammers, who take advantage of people seeking services, sometimes right outside the door of city-contracted nonprofits."

Read at Mission Local