Seniors
Related: About this forumMedicare Number Scam - I fell for it!
Got a call from someone who said they were from our local pharmacy, which they mentioned by name. They said they were updating their records and proceeded to ask me a few questions, like who my primary doctor was. When I said Dr. Soandso, they said, Dr. Mary Soandso? I said yes and answered several more questions because I thought this person was legitimate.
When they asked for my Medicare No., I gave I to them. When they asked for my height and weight, I gave it to them.
What finally woke me up was when they asked me if I had any medical problems, and then named a few
bad back
bad joints
etc. I said I had arthritis in my knee, and he offered to send me knee braces AT NO COST TO ME!
Well, that's when I realized what a fool Id been, hung up, googled Medicare fraud, and called 1-800-Medicare. The person I talked to was very kind and professional. They offered to start the process to give me a new number, or flag my number so that they could monitor it for fraud. I decided to keep my number for now.
That's where I am now. Feeling like a fool a hoping that I didnt give out so much info that someone could fake an ID and charge my account for all sorts of things.
LetMyPeopleVote
(154,017 posts)I either hang up or have fun with these idiots. Usually the calls show up on caller ID as scam calls
crosinski
(559 posts)OAITW r.2.0
(28,228 posts)Competition for Supplemental Medicare is a real market and their sales approach might be to uncover a "free" benefit that you could take advantage of, if you know it exists. Not saying they couldn't be scammers, but based on their response to an ailment you might have, seems like a sales pitch that might be made to get you to sign up for their supplemental plan.
crosinski
(559 posts)I hope it was! If it so, then maybe my info is safe and all is well.
OAITW r.2.0
(28,228 posts)I pay United Healthcare $350.00/mo for their plan.
I'd rather pay the USG to handle this. And they can keep the 20% profit for reinvestment into the program. Honestly, between Medicare A/B and a supplemental plan, I've gotten/getting great healthcare value. No out of pocket in 3 years.
And that would be one less scamming vector point, prying on seniors with healthcare misinfo. , who are less capable to deal with these people.
Deuxcents
(19,513 posts)I would have asked Medicare to flag your name and number..just in case. Weve all been made aware of these scams but they are tricksters and put ya at ease and it could happen to anyone. Keep track of your accounts and report anything that you feel is out of order. Best wishes and dont fret
crosinski
(559 posts)Yes, I was fooled. Ill never give out my number again, thats for sure!
elleng
(135,777 posts)Barry Markson
(280 posts)Anytime someone calls asking questions or claiming to be verifying information ask the caller's name and place of business.
Then look up the business number yourself and call and ask for that person by name.
It's likely a phishing expedition or scam.
crosinski
(559 posts)But this guy was very slick. He knew just enough about me to gain my trust.
usonian
(13,539 posts)If it claims to come from your pharmacy, say youll call them back
At the pharmacys well known number (Its on all your meds)
When they hear this, they should just give up.
Im sure there are many other ways, but this popped into my mind.
My Ophthalmologists office is begging me weekly to set up an account at a portal.
Having worked with computers most of my career, to me, thats creating another opportunity for a hacker to break into and grab my info. Right now, major corporations and infrastructure are under heavy attack by China and others.
Apparently a Russian group broke into Microsoft, which hosts unclassified emails for the state department, and got some of their messages, and internal Microsoft correspondence and maybe some program code.
With all their I.T. experts they couldnt prevent a break-in, so whoever is hosting my providers portal is going to be safer?
The old line from Taxi went Americas one tough town.
I am sure that at the Social Security, Medicare and IRS sites, there is a lot of info on avoiding scams.
Good luck.
crosinski
(559 posts)Unfortunately, Im not that smart! My take-a-way is that your Medicare No. is like your credit card no. you just do NOT give it out!
Skittles
(158,410 posts)NEVER click on a link that was sent to your email, NEVER answer questions from someone who called you......ALWAYS CONTACT THEM YOURSELF.....