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Deposits, refunds and avoiding surgery scams

Patients planning Miami surgery pay deposits to people they have never met: a practice, a recovery house, a nurse, a driver. Most are legitimate. A few are not, and the money is hard to get back.

By the MiamiSurgeryGuide editorsUpdated 3 min read

At a glance

Pay deposits only to a business you have verified, using an invoice in the business's legal name, and by credit card when possible. Avoid sending deposits by Zelle, Cash App, Chime or other payment apps to individuals. Get refund terms in writing, including what happens if your labs are low or your date changes. If you paid a scammer, contact your bank or app immediately and report it to the FTC and the Florida Attorney General.

Woman in a white hotel robe looking at her phone in a hotel room
Photograph: Anastasia Ilina-Makarova / Pexels

What patients report in surgery groups

We read public Miami surgery groups on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. These patterns come up again and again. They are paraphrased, and no individual is identified.

Theme: A deposit sent through a payment app to a person who then stopped answering, with no way to reverse it.Seen in: Facebook patient groups
Theme: Copycat accounts using a real recovery house's name and photos, messaging patients from new numbers.Seen in: recovery-house Instagram warnings
Theme: Written promises (meals, rides, nurse visits) that weren't kept, with no address on file to complain to.Seen in: Facebook patient groups
Theme: Major tests or specialist clearance requested weeks before surgery, after a large non-refundable payment had already been made.Seen in: Facebook patient groups
Theme: "Last-minute availability" and "only two spots left" posts pushing patients to pay the same day.Seen in: Instagram advertising

Verify the business before you pay

  • Practice and surgeon: check the operating surgeon's license and board certification. How to check
  • Legal business: search the business name on Sunbiz, Florida's official business registry. Compare the name to your invoice.
  • Nurses and massage therapists: get a full name and license type, then look it up on the Florida DOH license portal.
  • Recovery houses: get the street address, and ask whether it holds any state license. Florida has no recovery-house license category. What that means
  • The account messaging you: reach the business through the phone number or website you found yourself, not a number someone sent you.

Paying safely

Safer

Credit card payment to the business, or a card payment link on an invoice in the business's legal name. Credit cards offer a dispute process for services not provided.

Ask questions first

Debit cards and bank transfers. Dispute rights are weaker and slower. Confirm the account name matches the business.

Avoid for deposits

Zelle, Cash App, Chime, Venmo to an individual, gift cards, wire transfers or crypto. The FTC treats these like cash: hard to get back.

Deposit terms to get in writing

Ask every provider (practice, recovery house, nurse, driver) these questions before paying:

  1. How much is the deposit, and when is the balance due?
  2. Is it refundable, transferable to a new date, or forfeited? Until what date?
  3. What happens if I'm not medically cleared, for example because of low hemoglobin?
  4. What happens if the practice changes my surgeon or my date?
  5. What exactly is included, and what costs extra? (Package checklist)
  6. Who do I contact, at what address, if something promised isn't delivered?
Keep a paper trail

Save invoices, receipts, the written agreement and message screenshots in one folder. Patients who later disputed charges say that record was what mattered.

If you think you've been scammed

  1. Act the same day. Contact your bank, card issuer or payment app's in-app support and ask to dispute or stop the payment.
  2. Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  3. Report to the Florida Attorney General: 1-866-9-NO-SCAM or myfloridalegal.com.
  4. Unlicensed health care activity (for example, someone posing as a nurse) can be reported to the Florida Department of Health's unlicensed activity hotline, 1-877-HALT-ULA (1-877-425-8852).
  5. Warn others factually in your group, without sharing anyone's private information.

General information, not legal or financial advice. Sources: Federal Trade Commission consumer guidance on payment apps; Florida Division of Corporations; Florida Department of Health.

Common questions

Is it safe to pay a recovery house deposit with Zelle or Cash App?

It is risky. The FTC compares payment-app transfers to sending cash: once sent, they are hard to recover. Prefer a credit card or a payment link on an invoice in the business's legal name, and confirm the account belongs to the business you checked.

How can I tell if a Miami recovery house or nurse is real?

Ask for the street address, legal business name and, for nurses, the full name and license type. Look the business up on Florida's Sunbiz registry and the nurse on the Florida Department of Health license portal. Be cautious if the only contact is a direct-message account with no address.

Is my surgery deposit refundable if my hemoglobin is too low?

It depends entirely on the practice's written policy. Ask before paying whether the deposit is refundable, transferable to a new date, or forfeited if you are not medically cleared.

Where do I report a plastic surgery or recovery house scam in Florida?

Contact your bank or payment app first. Then report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the Florida Attorney General's fraud line, 1-866-9-NO-SCAM. Unlicensed health care activity can be reported to the Florida Department of Health at 1-877-HALT-ULA.