Watch Out for Medicare Scams Right Now

With this time of year being open enrollment for Medicare, it's a good time to remember that crooks are using Medicare as a ruse to try to steal your personal information.

In this article, I will go over some ways that criminals target Medicare recipients and what you can do to protect yourself.

Medicare Scams: How To Protect Yourself

Medicare.gov has some great advice on how you can stay safe. Here are some tips:

How To Prevent Medicare Scams

The old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” readily applies when it comes to avoiding Medicare scams.

As a general rule, never give an unexpected caller your personal information, especially your Medicare card number or Social Security number.

You can also prevent yourself from being victimized by keeping up with the most recent Medicare scams at CMS.gov, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

You'll also want to educate yourself on how interactions between you and the agency are supposed to go. Here are a few things that agency representatives will never do, according to the Rules from Medicare Plans:

Ask for personal information like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers "unless it's needed to verify membership, determine enrollment eligibility, or process an enrollment request. Plans don't need your personal information to give a quote," it says on Medicare.gov.
Call you unless you're already a plan member.
Offer you cash, a gift or a free meal as part of a sales pitch.
Ask for payment via phone or online (you'll always get a bill, the agency says).

Now let’s talk about some ways to identify some common Medicare scams out there.

How To Spot Medicare Scams

The key to safeguarding your Medicare account is to be able to spot a scam when you see it. These can take the form of unannounced home visits or even phone calls.

Home Visits

Medicare will never visit you at your home. If someone pops up at your door claiming to represent Medicare, it’s a scam.

Phone Calls

You may also get phone calls from criminals who try to get you to divulge your Medicare card number, account user name and/or password.

Here's a common script that scammers use, according to the Federal Communications Commission:

"We need you to confirm the numbers on your new Medicare card to activate it."
"Your new Medicare card has an error and we need to replace it."
"You were sent the old paper version and there's a new plastic version."

In fact, if you get a call from a suspicious phone number, do like money expert Clark Howard:

“If I don’t recognize the number as being from someone I know, I do not answer the call,” Clark says.

Once you spot a likely scam, the next thing you want to do is prevent it from hurting you and others: Report it.

How To Report a Medicare Scam

To report a Medicare scam, call the agency at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

You can also file a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint.

Final Thoughts

If you take the necessary precautions, you’re much less likely to fall victim to a Medicare scam.

Worried about getting tricked by a phone call? Always initiate your own call to Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE. That way, you’ll be sure that you’re speaking to the real agency and not a crook.