New Medicare Scam Targets Part B Participants

Nevada's attorney general is warning seniors that a new scam is targeting Medicare recipients, trying to obtain personal information that could be used for identity theft.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has issued a consumer alert after a senior in her state reported an attempt to steal his Medicare number.

According to Masto, the scam worked like this: a caller reached the senior by telephone and told him they are eligible for new diabetic meters that are generally covered by Medicare under Medicare Part B.

The caller claimed to be a government agency representative and informed the Medicare beneficiary he was eligible for a new glucose meter. The caller then asked the beneficiary to confirm “you are who you say you are” and requested the beneficiary’s Medicare number.

Didn't fall for it

In this particular case, the Nevada beneficiary told the caller he was not comfortable providing that information over the phone and asked the caller to send a form to provide the information. The caller then promptly hung up.

“Luckily, this senior was aware enough to realize that the caller was a scammer looking for personal information in an attempt to victimize him,” said Masto. “Although seniors are becoming increasingly more vigilant in protecting

their Medicare numbers and other personal information, there’s always the possibility that a scammer calling a senior could persuade him or her to provide information that could open the senior to potential ID theft and medical identity theft.”

Research shows that people are usually more vulnerable to a scam if it involves getting something for free. Consumers should be especially wary of offers of free items that require you to provide personal or credit card information.

Medicare, or course, will never make unsolicited calls to a beneficiary. If seniors receive any phone calls such as this scam, they should report it to their state attorney general and the Medicare Fraud Line in Washington.