Medicare Card Scam: “I’m calling about your new card …”
Hang up on anyone who calls saying they are with Medicare. Scammers are phoning Medicare recipients and pretending to be representatives of the government healthcare program, AARP reports. The caller then tells the victim that they need personal identifiers are required to make the switch to the new Medicare card – including Social Security numbers and bank account information.
None of these are true, but the scammers are telling seniors that:
- You must pay for your new Medicare card or you’ll lose your Medicare benefits
- Medicare is updating its files and needs your bank and credit card numbers
- Medicare is confirming your Social Security number before you can receive your new card
- Medicare needs your bank information to send you a refund on your old card
Representatives of Medicare do not call consumers. Just hang up on anyone claiming to be from Medicare on the phone.
Medicare is indeed replacing its old cards – which had recipients’ Social Security numbers listed on them. It is doing this to try to reduce the opportunity for fraud and identity theft. It’s ironic that scammers are using that positive action for their own gain.
Once your new card arrives, destroy your old one. Shred it, don’t just put it in the trash!