Tips For People with Medicare to Protect Against ScamsSeniors Alerted to Scam Offering to Help Enroll in Medicare Part D

 – If senior citizens don't have enough problems sorting out the Medicare prescription drug program, now they have to be alert to the possibility of being scammed by crooks that offer to help them enroll in the new Medicare Part D,

but are really after money and checking account information.

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) warns seniors and people with disabilities to be aware of a scheme that asks Medicare beneficiaries for money and checking account information to help them enroll in a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

This scheme is called the “$299 Ring” for the typical amount of money Medicare beneficiaries are talked into withdrawing from their checking

accounts to pay for a non-existent prescription drug plan. 

Seniors are particularly susceptible to the offer of help,

due to the complicated program and many choices.

Consumers can report these cases to their local law enforcement agencies

or 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379).

 

Medicare has received complaints from Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania,

Massachusetts New Jersey and Georgia.

Complaints have been made against a number of different companies,

but authorities believe that the companies are the same and are typically based outside the U. S. 

As soon as CMS receives these complaints,

they are investigated and referred to federal law enforcement authorities.

No Medicare drug plan can ask a person with Medicare for bank account or other personal information over the telephone. 

No beneficiary should ever provide that kind of information to a caller. 

They should contact their local police department if they believe someone is trying to take money or information from them illegally.

People with Medicare should also remember that they should be on the lookout for anyone trying to take advantage of them and take steps to protect themselves by remembering............ 

Medicare beneficiaries can take steps to protect themselves by remembering:

 

  ? No one can come into your house uninvited.
  ? No one can ask you for personal information during their marketing activities.
  ? Always keep all personal information, such as your Medicare number, safe, just as you would a credit card or a bank account number.
  ? Whenever you have a question or concern about any activity regarding Medicare, call 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379).
  ? Legitimate Medicare drug plans will not ask for payment over the telephone or the Internet.

They must send a bill to the beneficiary for the monthly premium. 
 

? Beneficiaries can pay automatically by setting up a monthly withdrawal from their Social Security check.

Beneficiaries may also pay by monthly check or set up an automatic withdrawal from a bank account, but beneficiaries must call their plan or respond to a mailed payment request from the plan to do this.

 

Identity Theft And Your Social Security Number

 

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. When a dishonest person has your Social Security number, the thief can use it to get other personal information about you. Most of the time identity thieves use your number and your good credit to apply for more credit in your name. Then, they use the credit cards and do not pay the bills. You do not find out that someone is using your number until you are turned down for credit, or you begin to get calls from unknown creditors demanding payment for items you never bought.

 

 

Don’t make it easy for someone to steal your number

Identity thieves get your personal information by:

• Stealing wallets, purses and your mail (bank and credit card statements,
  pre-approved credit offers, telephone calling cards and tax information);
• Stealing personal information you provide to an unsecured site on the Internet, from business or personnel records at work and personal information in your home;
• Sorting through trash for personal data;
• Posing as someone who legitimately needs information about you, such as employers or landlords; or
• Buying personal information from “inside” sources. For example, an identity thief may pay a store employee for information about you that appears on an application for goods, services or credit.

Contacting Social Security

In addition to using their website, you can call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

They can answer specific questions from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. T

hey  can provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day.

(You can use our automated response system to tell us a new address or request a replacement Medicare card.)

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

They treat all calls confidentially. 

Social Securty offices  also want to make sure you receive accurate and courteous service. T

hat is why we have a second Social Security representative

monitor some telephone calls.

 

Lets be safe seniors.....