Medicare is complicated. And scammers take advantage of that. Amid all the doctor’s visits, claims, prescriptions, equipment purchases, and general accounting overall, scammers slip in to cash in. They’ll file phony claims or trick you into handing over your personal info — like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and Medicare numbers. Without a doubt, some scams shoot for the whole lot of it. These scams can hurt many times over, above and beyond any initial financial loss. Many victims have their benefits cap maxed out before they can claim the benefits themselves. Further, these scams can muddy their medical records to the point where healthcare providers have to clear up which records are real and which aren’t. Worst of all, getting wrapped up in fraud can lead to a cancellation in coverage. Before diving into the types of Medicare scams, knowing these five things can help you avoid most, if not all, of them:

  1. Medicare won’t call you uninvited and ask you for personal or private info.
  2. You’ll usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a government agency.
  3. Don’t trust calls, texts, or emails requesting health insurance info.
  4. Medicare, like any other government agency, won’t contact you via social media.
  5. Lastly, Medicare will not bully, harass, or pressure you into payment.

We’ll cover more ways you can avoid Medicare scams after we take a look at some of the more popular types of them out there right now.

Types of Medicare scams

Medicare scams often involve fake Medicare representatives, phishing calls, and deceptive offers for free medical supplies or services. We’ll explore the most common types of Medicare scams and offer tips on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim to these schemes.

New card scams

This scam started cropping up several years ago, and it’s still going strong because it’s simple and effective. The scammer contacts the victim and tells them that they need a new Medicare card. They might say that it’s a new card with “enhanced security” or that the old one will become void for some reason. To get the new card, all the victim needs to do is share some personal info, which ends up in the scammer’s hands.

Account issue scams

This one plays out much like the new card scam, except the hook here is that there’s an issue with the victim’s Medicare account. Often, this takes the form of a warning that Medicare will cancel the victim’s account if certain payments aren’t made or if certain info isn’t updated. Scammers like to use high-pressure scare tactics here as a motivator, a classic scammer trick.

Refund and rebate scams

Also along similar lines, refund and rebate scams use the “good news” of found money to scam victims out of theirs. It runs much like you might think, where the scammer can only “authorize” the phony refund or rebate once the victim has handed over their personal info.

Discounted medical tests and equipment scams

People lose millions of dollars to these scams every year, which can lead to unrecoverable losses and potentially the cancellation of coverage overall due to fraudulent claims. Here, scammers use the lure of things like mobility scooters, genetic testing, and other healthcare devices to get unsuspecting victims to hand over their Medicare and payment info.

Coverage “upgrade” scams

Scammers know that while basic Medicare coverage is free for most people, they also know that some recipients pay for supplemental coverage. In these scams, the victim gets offered “cheaper” or “expanded” coverage for drugs and procedures not covered by Medicare. That nonexistent “cheaper” coverage is the scam. Likewise, if a drug or procedure isn’t approved or covered by Medicare, any plan that says they offer them is a scam.

Avoiding Medicare scams

Medicare has an entire page dedicated to fraud and abuse, with the following suggestions:

Do these steps:

  • Protect your Medicare number and your Social Security number.
  • Guard your Medicare card like it’s a credit card.
  • Become familiar with how Medicare uses your personal information. If you join a Medicare health or drug plan, the plan will let you know how it will use your personal info.
  • Check the receipts and statements you get from providers for mistakes and call your provider’s office if you think a charge is incorrect. The person you speak to may be able to help you understand the services or supplies you got, or they may realize a billing error was made.
  • Remember that Medicare will never call you to sell you anything or visit you at your home. Medicare, or someone representing Medicare, will only call and ask for personal info in limited situations:
    • A Medicare health or drug plan may call you if you’re already a member of the plan. The agent who helped you join can also call you.
    • A customer service representative from 1-800-MEDICARE will return your call if you requested it or if a representative promised they would.
    • If you filed a report of suspected fraud, you may get a call from someone representing Medicare to follow up on the status of that report.

Don’t do these:

  • Give your Medicare card, Medicare number, Social Security card, or Social Security number to anyone except your doctor or people you know should have it, such as insurers acting on your behalf or people who work with Medicare, like your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Get the contact information for your local SHIP.
  • Accept offers of money or gifts for free medical care.
  • Allow anyone, except your doctor or other Medicare providers, to review your medical records or recommend services.
  • Join a Medicare health or drug plan over the phone unless you called them.

More ways you can avoid Medicare scams

Beyond the basic precautions, there are additional steps you can take to safeguard your information and benefits. These extra tips can help you stay alert, informed, and one step ahead of Medicare fraud.

Contact Medicare directly

If you have a question about Medicare contact the government agency directly through Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Don’t click on any suspicious links in emails or texts

They could link to scam or phishing sites. You can also stay safer with our Web Protection and Scam Detector. They’ll alert you if a link might take you to a sketchy site. It’ll also block those sites if you accidentally tap or click on a bad link.

Monitor your identity and your credit

The bigger problem with some Medicare scams is that they can lead to other forms of identity theft. Actively monitoring your identity and credit can spot a problem before it becomes an even bigger one. You can take care of both easily with our credit monitoring and identity monitoring as part of our McAfee+ plans. Additionally, our identity theft coverage and restoration can help with up to $2 million in support if it’s determined you’re a victim of identity theft.

Remove your personal info from sketchy data broker sites

How’d that scammer get your email or phone number anyway? They might have pulled that info off a data broker site. Data brokers buy, collect, and sell detailed personal info. They round it up from several public and private sources, such as local, state, and federal records. They also collect it from third parties like supermarket shopper’s cards and mobile apps that share and sell user data. Plus, they’ll sell it to anyone who pays for it, including scammers. You can help reduce those scam texts and calls by removing your info from those sites. Our Personal Data Cleanup scans some of the riskiest data broker sites and shows you which ones are selling your personal information.