Medicare Scam

[JoyceFarrell]

New Medicare and Social Security Scams

Senior citizens report being targeted by a new scam: fraudulent operators who pretend to be calling about Medicare, Social Security, or supplemental insurance, but whose actual purpose is to trick seniors into disclosing their private financial information. Disclosure of such information can lead to identity theft or unauthorized withdrawals from a person's bank account. Prevent this scam from happening to you, or someone you care about.

How the Scam Works
Medicare and Social Security beneficiaries across the country report receiving calls from scam operators (frequently with foreign accents), who claim to represent Medicare, Social Security, or an insurance company. These callers claim that new Medicare, Social Security, supplemental insurance benefits cards are being issued or that the beneficiary's file must be updated. The scam artist asks the citizen to verify or provide their personal banking information, which is then used to commit theft.
Callers involved in this crime ring may be extremely aggressive, calling over and over, and at all times of the day, in an attempt to wear down the potential victim. These criminals will say anything to try to gain a person's trust. In some cases, the criminals may have already obtained some limited personal information about the citizen, such as his or her name, address, or even Social Security number, which the criminal then uses to try to make the call seem legitimate. In other cases, the callers may claim that they can improve the benefits. Do not believe these claims, and do not carry on a conversation with the caller. Instead, if you receive a call asking you to disclose your bank account or other financial information, hang up immediately. These are criminals, and by speaking with the callers, even to ask them to stop calling, they may be encouraged to continue calling your telephone number.
If you are a Medicare or Social Security beneficiary, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration do not call you to ask you to disclose financial information in order to get a new card. If you receive such a call, you should report it to these two agencies as follows:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services7500 Security BoulevardBaltimore, MD 21244
www.cms.gov
Social Security AdministrationOffice of Public Inquiries1100 West High Rise6401 Security BoulevardBaltimore, MD 21235(800) 772-1213
www.ssa.gov
The operators of this scam are engaged in criminal activity. Citizens who receive such calls are also encouraged to report them to the FBI as follows:

Federal Bureau of InvestigationMinneapolis Office1501 Freeway BoulevardBrooklyn Center, MN 55430(763) 569-8000
www.fbi.gov

Tips
These three tips should help you avoid falling victim to this scam:

Remember, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration will not call you to update your information or give you a new card.

If someone who calls you asks for your personal information, do not provide it.

If calls persist, you may wish to speak to your phone company about calling features that would enable you to be selective in the calls that you accept or receive.

If you have already disclosed personal financial information to an unknown party, you may be at risk of identity theft. There are certain steps that you can take to further protect yourself including:

[JoyceFarrell]

WARNING[
FOREIGN  SCAMMERS WHO CAN BARELY SPEAK ENGLASH ARE CALLING PEOPLE ... THE CALLERS ARE USUALLY WOMEN ... WHEN THEY CALL IMMEDIATELY HANG UP ... DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION. MEDICARE DOES NOT TELEMARKET.

SCAM ALERT.