Medicare Scams
Beware of any unsolicited call regarding your Medicare benefits.
Scan Thieves will try to intimidate you in giving out your personal information over the phone and threaten large bills and cancelation. Hang up and call your provider.
Suspects will also call and offer you free items that may or not be needed such as pain cream and braces. If your doctor has not prescribed them. do not accept these items. Scammers will attempt to charge Medicare for inflated cost such as a $49 jar of pain crème for $32,000. (actual case)
Suspects can also duplicate cards with your information and then they are used leaving you responsible for the charge.
Never give you personal information over the phone. Hang up and find the listed number for the agency then call them and confirm that the call was a scam.
https://www.wect.com/2021/03/09/bcso-warns-medicare-scam-targeting-residents/
Scan Thieves will try to intimidate you in giving out your personal information over the phone and threaten large bills and cancelation. Hang up and call your provider.
Suspects will also call and offer you free items that may or not be needed such as pain cream and braces. If your doctor has not prescribed them. do not accept these items. Scammers will attempt to charge Medicare for inflated cost such as a $49 jar of pain crème for $32,000. (actual case)
Suspects can also duplicate cards with your information and then they are used leaving you responsible for the charge.
Never give you personal information over the phone. Hang up and find the listed number for the agency then call them and confirm that the call was a scam.
https://www.wect.com/2021/03/09/bcso-warns-medicare-scam-targeting-residents/
These articles are from Fraud News Weekly, info@insurancefraud.org
Swindlers are going after seniors with bogus Medicare threats and deals, the feds warn.
They’re telling seniors that Medicare is issuing new Medicare cards. The cards are plastic, metal or black and white, they say. You need to share your Medicare number, DOB and bank account info, the scammers say. Phone calls are spoofed to look like they’re from Medicare, Social Security or a local number. In fact, Medicare isn’t issuing new cards, and doesn’t make unsolicited pitches via phone, emails or visits. Medicare communicates with seniors via mail. Nor does Medicare ask for your personal info or Medicare number unless you contact Medicare yourself.
Scammers are exploiting the rush for COVID-19 vaccinations.
They’re phoning, emailing and texting consumers — pretending to be local hospital staff, the Better Business Bureau reports. The con artists warn consumers to pay up immediately or they won’t get vaccinated — or their appointment will be canceled. These schemes are spreading around the U.S., the national Better Business Bureau adds. Note these fraud warning flags, the FTC also cautions:
The Highway Patrol is working double time to sweep the roadways clean of vehicle give ups, staged crashes and other vehicle scams. The agency has troopers who work closely with auto insurers and NICB in the state, especially on the 100K hit-and-run crashes the Highway Patrol logs each year. A percentage of hit-and-runs are insurance scams, especially in urban regions such as Tampa, Miami and Orlando. The Highway Patrol’s investigations bring crucial info to SIUs that can help lead to fraud charges — or confirm honest claims. Christopher Wells, for example, is a Master Trooper who’s earned the Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator designation from IASIU. He averages up to 200 hit-and-run investigations a year. More than 50% are solved, many in partnership with insurers and NICB. In one case, a driver crashed a vehicle and towed it for two hours back home. The insurance claim was a scam and omitted the lengthy tow. The Highway Patrol’s check of license plate readers at toll booths, plus other evidence, helped bust the plot. Wells also gives presentations to SIUs and other groups in the state for this very active partnership with auto insurers.
Swindlers are going after seniors with bogus Medicare threats and deals, the feds warn.
They’re telling seniors that Medicare is issuing new Medicare cards. The cards are plastic, metal or black and white, they say. You need to share your Medicare number, DOB and bank account info, the scammers say. Phone calls are spoofed to look like they’re from Medicare, Social Security or a local number. In fact, Medicare isn’t issuing new cards, and doesn’t make unsolicited pitches via phone, emails or visits. Medicare communicates with seniors via mail. Nor does Medicare ask for your personal info or Medicare number unless you contact Medicare yourself.
Scammers are exploiting the rush for COVID-19 vaccinations.
They’re phoning, emailing and texting consumers — pretending to be local hospital staff, the Better Business Bureau reports. The con artists warn consumers to pay up immediately or they won’t get vaccinated — or their appointment will be canceled. These schemes are spreading around the U.S., the national Better Business Bureau adds. Note these fraud warning flags, the FTC also cautions:
- Requesting money to sign you up for a vaccination appointment, or get you earlier access
- Asking for credit card or bank account information
- Offering to send a vaccine directly to your home
- Offering access to a vaccine from an unconventional source such as a dating website.
The Highway Patrol is working double time to sweep the roadways clean of vehicle give ups, staged crashes and other vehicle scams. The agency has troopers who work closely with auto insurers and NICB in the state, especially on the 100K hit-and-run crashes the Highway Patrol logs each year. A percentage of hit-and-runs are insurance scams, especially in urban regions such as Tampa, Miami and Orlando. The Highway Patrol’s investigations bring crucial info to SIUs that can help lead to fraud charges — or confirm honest claims. Christopher Wells, for example, is a Master Trooper who’s earned the Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator designation from IASIU. He averages up to 200 hit-and-run investigations a year. More than 50% are solved, many in partnership with insurers and NICB. In one case, a driver crashed a vehicle and towed it for two hours back home. The insurance claim was a scam and omitted the lengthy tow. The Highway Patrol’s check of license plate readers at toll booths, plus other evidence, helped bust the plot. Wells also gives presentations to SIUs and other groups in the state for this very active partnership with auto insurers.