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Here are some known scams to avoid:

1 - Scammers impersonating Medicare employees called many beneficiaries, telling them they needed to verify personal information or pay a processing fee to get their new card.

 

2 - A variations on the con may claim you need to replace or upgrade your Medicare card. Medicare will NEVER call you or email you.

 

3 - They might try to entice you to pay a fee to switch from a paper to a plastic card, or one with a chip.

Medicare DOES NOT offer cards with chips.

 

4 - Thieves ask for a new identifying number to “activate” your card.

 

5 - They may assert that your new card isn’t the right one and won’t work; they’ll offer to send a replacement if you provide personal information, such as a Social Security # or date of birth.  

 

6 - Another trick is to claim there’s been suspicious activity on your Medicare account. Medicare will NEVER call you or email you.

 

7 - Some might threaten to cancel your Medicare coverage unless you provide personal information. No one can cancel your Medicare.

 

8 - An unsolicited caller purports to be from, someone like your doctor's office, do due diligence and call the office using a phone number that you know is genuine.

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9- Be suspicious of any unexpected callers or visitors offering COVID-19 tests or supplies. If your personal information is compromised, it may be used in other schemes.

 

10 - Do not respond to, or open hyperlinks in, text messages about COVID-19 from unknown individuals.

 

11 - Ignore offers or ads on social media sites touting COVID-19 testing or treatments.

 

12 - A physician or other trusted health care provider should assess your condition and approve a request for COVID-19 testing.

 

13 - Be aware of scammers pretending to be COVID-19 contact tracers. Legitimate contact tracers will never ask for your Medicare number or financial information.

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14 -Con artists were telling Medicare beneficiaries that they were eligible for “COVID Wellness Kits” containing hand sanitizer or face masks. Or they were promised in-home COVID-19 tests or additional Medicare coverage.

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15 - Criminals have been posing as medical or hospital employees, telling people that their doctor wants them to be tested for the coronavirus. The crooks will set up phony appointments and demand that a copay be submitted in advance by credit card, citing a need for contactless payment.

 

16 - Fraudsters have been going to people's homes to administer fake tests for COVID-19. They've also set up sham drive-through test sites. Others have touted fake cures and treatments for an illness for which there currently is no cure.

 

17 - Con artists have been masquerading as Covid contact tracers trying to obtain your personal information.

 

18 - Fraudsters are hijacking Facebook accounts and posing as other people, boasting about having received an Health and Human Services (HHS) grant, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, because of the COVID-19 crisis. 

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19 - "If someone you don't know offers to help you [buy groceries, prescriptions or supplies], be wary. Some scammers offer to buy supplies, but never return with the goods — or your money. Use an established delivery service or order directly from the store. Many grocery stores and pharmacies are offering contactless delivery.

"If you need additional help, the [government's] Eldercare Locator can connect you to services for older adults and their families. Visit the Eldercare Locator or call 1-800-677-1116."

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20 - Another trick is to claim your child or grand child has been arrested and needs bail or that they have been injured and needs money. Some claiming to be a relative want money to come visit or to return home.

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21 - There are also pop up Covid sites designed to gain your personal information. To protect yourself, only use official websites and facilities that you are familiar with.

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22 - Another Scam is to call saying that you won a prize like the "Publishers Clearing House" $5,000 per week for life, the only requirement from you to do is to pay a fee by means of a money transfer or Western Union transfer in the amount of $499. The key to their success is that they do not ask you any personal information, they ask you to write down some key steps for you to do and they sound very professional. DO NOT SEND MONEY TO PEOPLE YOU DO NOT KNOW!

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23 - You receive a unsolicited phone call asking if you have Medicare Part A & B. If you answer yes then they ask you if you want a debit cart to by groceries. If you answer yes then you have given them "legal permission" to have agents call and harass you to change Medicare plans. Please, Only talk to a local agent and not someone who calls you on the phone and starts to ask you personal questions.

 

24- Recently a client received a phone call claiming to be from their bank and stating that they were working with the FBI to catch a scammer. They asked her to move $180,000 into another account to bait the scammers so they could catch them. Fortunately her husband called their banking representative and after a lot of work she was able to prevent any monies from being transferred.

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25- Cut your internet or cable rate in half. Require that you pay the entire bill up front NOW!

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26- Scammers pose as your telephone provider then ask for your account login information then they use it to 

obtain your phone number to scam others under your number.

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27- You may get a text or email stating that you Amazon or other accounts are going to be suspended and need to click a link provided. DO NOT click the link! If in doubt call the company from a trusted and know resource instead.

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28 - If you get a text from someone that you do not know, please do not engage in a conversation.

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29 - Text about a Netflix, Amazon, Facebook account needing account information or account being blocked

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30 - You received a gift card in the mail from someone you do not know or do not expect. There are less protections on Gift Cards than you credit or bank cards.

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31 - You received a card saying that your car warranty has expired, please proceed with caution.

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32 - Facebook or other Social Media friend request from people that you do not know may be a scam and you could be communicating with AI bots.

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33 - Computer pop up’s saying you computer is infected with a virus and you need to download something or purchase protection. This is likely a trap.

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34 - Free software exist that lets callers falsely use your caller ID on a targets phone. So criminals might use your number or number that looks like yours or your bank number or that of a government agency such as the IRS, Medicare, or police department to get you to answer. They all suspicious and unexpected calls go to voicemail. Note that federal agencies will never call you or ask your Medicare or Social Security number or other identifiers.

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35 - Crooks can quickly and easily get you to send them Money via a cryptocurrency ATM, then it is likely gone forever. They text you a QR code and instruct you to scan it at a machine at a store or gas station. Once you scan the QR code and make your payment, your money is in their hands.

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36 - They text you a QR code and instruct you to scan it at a machine at a store or gas station. Once you scan the QR code and make your payment, your money is in their hands.

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37 - Criminals will use legitimate locations and place fake keypads over ATM machines to obtain your PIN numbers.

 

38 - Criminals will replace QR codes in places such as Walmart or other trusted vendors. Once you scan this QR codes you’re routed to where they want you to go so they can obtain your private information. To avoid this only scan QR codes from people that you know. And a boy doing business on the Internet for important things like banking and insurance.

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39 - Scammers called my wife saying that a collect call from Mexico was made on our account. He knew everything about our billing information so she believed him. he said that he was sending a text to her phone to verify that she was the correct person. I reality by giving him the\at number she had give him control of our account and someone then proceeded to purchase iPads and other devices in New York and it took months for the fraud to stop.

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40 - Scammers are now using AI generated voices that will sound like a close family member that is destress and will try to get you to send money. Best to verify the family member by asking them a question that only they would remember.

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41 - It has been reported to me by many clients in recent weeks that certain medical facilities are not coding wellness checkups properly and are asking for a copay for something that is free to members. They are scheduling these incorrectly then you do not get the wellness visit but a normal PCP visit with a copay.
This is wrong!
It is meant to get members to come in and catch things early which everyone can agree is a good thing and should cost the member $0.
Even when double verified that a member had scheduled a wellness visit they were still charged a $30 copay claiming that the Dr did the wrong type visit when it was clearly the scheduling mistake.
If you feel like this has happened to you do not take it lying down, we must protest these abuses to Medicare at 800-662-7030 and to your insurance company directly.

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42 - Payday loan scam

Criminals exploit the inflation squeezing workers by offering fake payday loans that they claim will help people settle their bills. Loan applicants are told they’ll need to prepay a fee. The money goes into the crooks’ pockets, and the applicant gets nothing.

 

43 -One-time password (OTP) bot scam

Credit reporting company warns that scammers utilize automated programs to deceive people into sharing the two-factor authentication codes sent to them via text or email from financial institutions (or from companies such as Amazon). The bot will make a robocall or send a text that appears to come from a bank, asking you to authorize a charge, then it asks you to enter the authentication code you’ve just been sent if the transaction isn’t yours. It’s actually the bot that’s trying to log into your bank account, and it wants the code that the bank sent to you as a precaution, so it can get in.

 

44 - Student loan forgiveness scam

The Biden administration’s plan to forgive student loans so scammers  try to take advantage of people who may not have heard it’s on hold. They’ve built phony application sites aimed at stealing applicants’ Social Security numbers and bank information, and sometimes they contact targets by phone, pressuring them into applying and charging a fee for their help. 

 

45 - Puppy purchase scam

Scammers offering cute puppies for sale on the web. In one instance a woman paid $850 for a puppy, they requests for more money — first $725 for travel insurance for the dog, then $615 for a special crate. In the end, the buyer lost $2,200 and never got the puppy.

 

46 - Check washing scam

Checks are still used often enough for scammers to exploit. One trick is “check washing,” in which crooks steal checks from mailboxes and bathe them in household chemicals to erase the original name and dollar amount, leaving blank spaces they can fill in. It’s possible to convert a $25 check to one for thousands of dollars.

 

47 - Free-gift QR code scam

Scammers put fake codes over real ones to exploit the convenience of the barcodes people scan into their phones to see restaurant menus or make payments. Or Scammers may call and say they’re going to send a QR code to your phone, so you can receive a free $100 gift card. In reality, the QR code may take you to a malicious website.

 

48 - Oops, wrong number!' texts

Seemingly misdirected messages are increasingly the start of a scammer’s ploy. A text message addressed to someone else pops up on your phone. It seems urgent — a rescheduled business meeting, or maybe a romantic get-together. You text back, “Sorry, wrong number!” The scammer keeps up the friendly texts, and may eventually convince you to make a cryptocurrency investment (and take your money). 

 

49 - Bank impersonator racket

Crooks call you, claiming to be from your bank and warning about a problem with your account. The caller tells you they’re emailing or texting you a “onetime passcode” for logging in and asks you to read it back to them for verification. In reality, the scammer’s login attempt triggered your bank to send you the passcode. Handing it over gives criminals full access to your account.

 

50 - ‘I’ve got your package, where’s your house?’ hoax

New package delivery scams include texts and phone calls purportedly from a professional-sounding delivery driver who can’t find your house. Didn’t order anything? They may try to convince you someone’s sent a gift. Or you may receive an email about rescheduling a drop-off or a fake “package ­delivery attempt” sticker on your front door. Their goal? To get you to provide personal information or simply click on a link they provide. That link then downloads malware that will harvest passwords and account info from your computer. 

 

51 - Out-of-stock item scam

Scammers often place fake ads on social media sites for products at too-good-to-be-true prices, take your order and payment info, then tell you the item’s not available right now. Your refund is on the way, they promise, but it never arrives. And you can’t reach anyone at the company about it.

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FYI - Some Caribbean countries make a large part of their nations income by scamming Americans.

Don't be one of their next victims!