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We received a frantic call from Brenda, a long-time client. She was somewhat panicked in that she had received several messages and
\nphone calls from a caller who identified themselves as calling from\u00a0Medicare and wanted her personal details to correct a problem
\nwith her file at Medicare.<\/p>\n
Brenda was extremely suspicious and was reluctant to give the caller the personal information they were requesting. Good for her!
\nShe called our office and asked if we knew of any program that\u00a0was being carried out by Medicare to correct personal information
\nin her file. We assured her absolutely not! The IRS, Social\u00a0Security, and Medicare will never call you on the phone\u00a0requesting information of a personal nature unless you\u00a0call them and they are calling you back. They will\u00a0communicate by mail.<\/p>\n
There are currently several phone scams involving phone calls to\u00a0inform you of your new member cards arriving from Medicare and
\nthe caller just needs to verify your mailing address and other\u00a0personal information. Some other scams to watch for:<\/p>\n
–In some cases, the caller makes threatening or intimidating\u00a0statements to scare you into cooperating and giving up your
\npersonal information. \u201cDo you want your new card or not?\u201d<\/p>\n
–The caller states you owe money to the IRS and you are going to\u00a0be sued or arrested unless you cooperate and give them your
\ninformation, or make an immediate payment for the amount they\u00a0claim you owe.<\/p>\n
–The caller states there is something wrong with your Social\u00a0Security check payments and they need your personal information
\nto correct the problem, so your payments are not interrupted. They\u00a0may even promise you that they can get an increase in your
\nmonthly check amount if you cooperate.<\/p>\n
–The caller claims to be calling from Social Security, alerting you\u00a0that you are the victim of identity fraud and they need to purge
\nyour file or correct some other personal info in your file.<\/p>\n
–The caller says they are from the FBI and you are in violation\u00a0of some federal crime and need you to pay the fine right now or\u00a0be arrested.<\/p>\n
–The caller states they are from some police department and\u00a0your spouse, child, or grandchild was arrested and they need a
\ncredit card payment for the fine or bail to release your loved one.<\/p>\n
These fraud calls can sometimes be very convincing in that the\u00a0caller manipulates your caller ID so that it appears that they are
\ncalling from a government facility or legitimate government\u00a0phone number.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t recognize the number, don\u2019t answer the phone. In\u00a0one case, the caller merely asked a question designed where you
\nwould say \u2018yes.\u2019 The \u2018yes\u2019 was recorded, and the caller then used\u00a0your voice recording to approve a transaction for a fraudulent
\npurchase.<\/p>\n
If you receive one of these calls hang up immediately! Check\u00a0your credit cards and bank account to ensure nothing is amiss.
\nThen report the call online to the BBB Scam Tracker or the FCC\u00a0Consumer Help Center. Both websites allow you to write an
\nexplanation of exactly what happened and when.<\/p>\n
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