An old scam tactic is out there again, but this time with an extra twist.
Scammers will hunt for individuals to send fake Medicare cards to, and then call the individual and ask them to confirm their current Medicare information to try and “send you a new Medicare card.”
The newest spin on this scam is that the scammers will spoof Alaskan Doctor offices telephone numbers and pretend to be a part of that actual office.
According to Dana Norwood, the Program Coordinator for the Department of Health, the scammer does this so they can bill Medicare for items purchased under someone else’s name.
“They’ll bill Medicare for supplies like self-catheter kits, and they’ll do it each 30 days until people start saying ‘wait a second, I’m looking at what’s called the Medicare Summary Notice’, which is like an explanation of benefits. And they’ll say, ‘I didn’t receive these supplies, nor did I need these supplies.’ And so, then we’re playing the catch-up game trying to catch up to these folks that have already billed and then the entity that they’re billing under just goes away and nobody can find that. So, what it is, is its billing Medicare for services or supplies that aren’t being rendered or received or medically necessary,” says Norwood.
Norwood explains that sometimes Medicare numbers become compromised for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s because individuals verified the information over the phone, or they thought they were talking to their trusted doctor’s office.
While the scam of sending people false Medicare cards isn’t new, the concept of spoofing doctor’s offices is. Norwood says that the department received a call last week on Friday from an individual who accidentally provided their Medicare information to the scammer.
“And so, we’re working through the process of helping them, but it actually came from their doctor’s office is what it appeared when they called and they wanted to verify their Medicare information so that they could get a new card and it wasn’t until he was talking with someone later that he was like, ‘Maybe this isn’t right.’ So really this is a new aspect of the scam,” said Norwood.
It can be easy to fall for these tricky scams, but Norwood advises everyone who receives calls like these to tell the scammer that you will personally call your doctor’s office to verify the information, and then hang up the phone. Then report them to the Senior Medicare Control.
If nothing else, Norwood says to be sure that you “know who you’re talking to.”
“Even if they’re calling claiming to be from your doctor’s office, there’s no harm in telling them that you’re going to call your doctor’s office directly and talk to them that way and hang up. Most of the time when that happens, when you call that individual is not going to be at the doctor’s office and they just save themselves a lot of headaches. The other piece that we’re always touting is read your Medicare Summary Notice when that comes in, review it for claims you don’t recognize because really our Medicare individuals is our first line of defense for saving the Medicare Trust Fund for the users that we meet,” says Norwood.
If you have received a call like this, or believe that your Medicare information has been compromised, call the Senior Medicare Patrol at (907) 269-3680 or visit their website by clicking here.