Once you become eligible for Medicare, typically in the months before you turn 65, you may experience an uptick in calls from people who say they’re from Medicare-based organizations. These could be scam calls, and the people on the other end of the line are not official Medicare or Social Security representatives.
When enrolling in Medicare, you should know that neither Social Security nor Medicare will ever call you to get information. Should any Medicare or Social Security need to contact you, they will always send you a letter to notify you.
What is a Medicare Scam?
Medicare scams are typically people calling or emailing you asking for sensitive information while claiming to be Medicare representatives. Most of the time they are pretending to be from Medicare or from a legitimate Medicare insurance company or brokerage.
Medicare frauds want you to give them private information so that they can steal your identity or trick you into giving them as much of your money as they can.
If someone claiming to be associated with Medicare asks you for any of the following information, it’s most likely a scam. You should never give out this information to someone who has contacted you first.
Social Security number
Bank account number
Current Medicare card number
Credit card number
Full address
Full name (first, middle, last)
Maiden name
DO NOT respond to any scammers, JUST HANG UP!
Then call the organization they are claiming to call from directly.
If you reach out to Medicare, Social Security, your insurance company, or an insurance broker, make sure you have the correct, legitimate phone number off of the organization’s official website or any printed mail you receive from them.
Click here for information on: Reporting Medicare Fraud & Abuse