The Indiana Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is warning residents in the Evansville area, and across the state, to be watchful of phone scams targeting people on Medicare. SMP officials recently received a complaint from an 84 year woman in Evansville who mistakenly gave her Medicare number to a scammer. A Medicare benefits number is the same as an individual’s Social Security Number (SSN). The scammers have used the victim’s SSN to compromise some of her financial accounts. SMP has initiated investigations with the Office of the Inspector General and the Indiana Attorney General’s Identify Theft Unit.
The Evansville victim is available to speak with media and wishes to share her experience to help educate others and prevent this scam from spreading. SMP officials based in Indianapolis are also available to speak to media.
Scam Details:
- The call came from an 812 area code, which means residents in that area code are more likely to answer the phone.
- The caller was selling an ointment for back pain.
- The caller asks victims for their Medicare number found on the benefits card, which is the same as their Social Security Number and can be used to perpetuate identify theft.
What people need to know
- The number on a Medicare benefits card is the same as the beneficiary’s Social Security Number. As a precaution, SMP recommends seniors use a black marker to cover up all the numbers except the last four digits.
- Seniors should never give out their Medicare number to anyone over the phone.
- SMP recommends seniors have caller ID and not answer the phone if it’s an unfamiliar number. Scammers target seniors because they are home during the day and are more likely to answer their phones and can spoof local area codes and prefixes.
- Applying a credit security freeze is recommended, especially for those who are not actively applying for credit or loans, as is the case with many seniors. It is free for Indiana residents and prevents scammers who fraudulently obtain social security numbers from opening new accounts or damaging a person’s credit history. Link to learn more:Â http://www.in.gov/
attorneygeneral/2411.htm
