Post by TonyV on May 27, 2018 19:32:35 GMT -5
There is a new post published on the UAWLAP.org Site.
Details of the post follow.
Beshear: New Medicare Card coming in the Mail, Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Beshear: New Medicare Card coming in the Mail, Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers
More than 900,000 Kentucky Medicare recipients to receive new ID cards starting
soon
FRANKFORT, KY. (May 24, 2018) – Ahead of the federal government mailing more
than 900,000 Kentucky Medicare recipients new I.D. cards, Attorney General Andy
Beshear is warning enrollees to be on the lookout for scams.
The mailing of the new cards, which are designed to help minimize fraud by
replacing members’ Social Security numbers with 11-digit I.D. numbers, are
triggering scam warnings across the nation. Kentuckians are expected to start
receiving the cards in their mailbox starting soon.
Reports indicate scammers are pretending to be Center for Medicare and Medicaid
employees calling enrollees and claiming they need to provide personal and
financial information or a payment in order to receive, replace or activate
their new card.
“I want Kentucky senior citizens to know Medicare will never initiate a call
and ask to verify information over the phone,” said Beshear. “If you are
contacted by someone claiming to be a Medicare employee asking for information,
money or threatening to cancel your health benefits, hang up and report the scam
to the federal government at 1-800-MEDICARE.”
The federal health insurance program is for Americans 65 and older and in 2015,
Congress ordered I.D. numbers replace Social Security numbers on the cards.
According to Medicare.gov, as long as an enrollee’s address is up-to-date,
they do not need to do anything to receive their new card. To update an address,
visit your My Social Security account or call 800-772-1213.
This year, Beshear’s Office of Senior Protection and Mediation received
reports of Medicare and other insurance scams in Anderson, Boone, Boyle,
Gallatin, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Scott and Spencer counties.
Kenton County Sheriff Charles Korzenborn recently notified residents of a
similar Medicare scam where the caller claimed they could qualify and enroll a
local senior in Medicare.
“After receiving this call, our citizen was suspicious and immediately
contacted the national Medicare fraud number and was assured it was a scam and
that Medicare never advises of coverage options via the phone,” said
Korzenborn. “This citizen did the right thing by contacting Medicare, our
office and Attorney General Beshear’s office to report the call and thankfully
no personal information was exchanged.”
One of Beshear’s top priorities is to protect Kentucky consumers, especially
seniors, from scams, abuse and exploitation.
To help Kentuckians stay ahead of new and trending scams, Beshear launched Scam
Alerts – a communication service that alerts Kentuckians when con artists are
on the attack. Beshear urges all Kentuckians to sign-up for Scam Alerts by
texting the words KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468311) or enroll online at
ag.ky.gov/scams.
Link to the post:
uawlap.org/uaw/cap-uaw/beshear-new-medicare-card-coming-in-the-mail-dont-fall-victim-to-scammers.php
Link to UAWLAP.org: uawlap.org
Details of the post follow.
Beshear: New Medicare Card coming in the Mail, Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Beshear: New Medicare Card coming in the Mail, Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers
More than 900,000 Kentucky Medicare recipients to receive new ID cards starting
soon
FRANKFORT, KY. (May 24, 2018) – Ahead of the federal government mailing more
than 900,000 Kentucky Medicare recipients new I.D. cards, Attorney General Andy
Beshear is warning enrollees to be on the lookout for scams.
The mailing of the new cards, which are designed to help minimize fraud by
replacing members’ Social Security numbers with 11-digit I.D. numbers, are
triggering scam warnings across the nation. Kentuckians are expected to start
receiving the cards in their mailbox starting soon.
Reports indicate scammers are pretending to be Center for Medicare and Medicaid
employees calling enrollees and claiming they need to provide personal and
financial information or a payment in order to receive, replace or activate
their new card.
“I want Kentucky senior citizens to know Medicare will never initiate a call
and ask to verify information over the phone,” said Beshear. “If you are
contacted by someone claiming to be a Medicare employee asking for information,
money or threatening to cancel your health benefits, hang up and report the scam
to the federal government at 1-800-MEDICARE.”
The federal health insurance program is for Americans 65 and older and in 2015,
Congress ordered I.D. numbers replace Social Security numbers on the cards.
According to Medicare.gov, as long as an enrollee’s address is up-to-date,
they do not need to do anything to receive their new card. To update an address,
visit your My Social Security account or call 800-772-1213.
This year, Beshear’s Office of Senior Protection and Mediation received
reports of Medicare and other insurance scams in Anderson, Boone, Boyle,
Gallatin, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Scott and Spencer counties.
Kenton County Sheriff Charles Korzenborn recently notified residents of a
similar Medicare scam where the caller claimed they could qualify and enroll a
local senior in Medicare.
“After receiving this call, our citizen was suspicious and immediately
contacted the national Medicare fraud number and was assured it was a scam and
that Medicare never advises of coverage options via the phone,” said
Korzenborn. “This citizen did the right thing by contacting Medicare, our
office and Attorney General Beshear’s office to report the call and thankfully
no personal information was exchanged.”
One of Beshear’s top priorities is to protect Kentucky consumers, especially
seniors, from scams, abuse and exploitation.
To help Kentuckians stay ahead of new and trending scams, Beshear launched Scam
Alerts – a communication service that alerts Kentuckians when con artists are
on the attack. Beshear urges all Kentuckians to sign-up for Scam Alerts by
texting the words KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468311) or enroll online at
ag.ky.gov/scams.
Link to the post:
uawlap.org/uaw/cap-uaw/beshear-new-medicare-card-coming-in-the-mail-dont-fall-victim-to-scammers.php
Link to UAWLAP.org: uawlap.org