Medicare / health insurance scam
Callers pose as Medicare representatives offering new cards, back braces, genetic tests, or plan 'upgrades' to harvest Medicare numbers, which are then used for billing fraud.
Harvested Medicare numbers feed durable-medical-equipment and genetic-testing billing fraud that surfaces months later as claims for braces and tests you never received — visible only if you read your Medicare Summary Notices. Open enrollment (October–December) brings the annual surge of plan-upgrade calls. Medicare's actual outreach model is mail-first; it does not cold-call to verify numbers or offer free equipment, and legitimate plan agents may only call if you requested contact.
How to recognize it
- Unsolicited offer of free medical equipment or genetic testing
- Request for your Medicare number to 'send a new card'
- Claims that your benefits will be cancelled unless you act now
What to do
- Guard your Medicare number like a credit card
- Medicare does not call to sell anything or verify numbers
- Report suspected fraud to 1-800-MEDICARE and the OIG
Where to report
Sources
FAQ
What should I do first if I suspect a medicare / health insurance scam call?
Hang up without pressing anything or confirming any details. Guard your Medicare number like a credit card. Then report it through the channels listed below.
I already gave the caller money or information — now what?
Act on the money first: contact your bank or card issuer immediately, and if you paid by gift card, call the card company to try freezing the balance. Then file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, if identity data leaked, follow the recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
Does the number that called me identify the scammer?
Usually not — the display is routinely spoofed. Report the number anyway: combined with time and content, it still helps investigators map calling campaigns.