Senior Medicare Patrol of Virginia has made the announcement that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has confirmed that the 1-800 MEDICARE telephone number is being used as part of a telephone spoofing scam.
The scammers represent themselves as Medicare representatives and can alter the appearance of the caller ID to make it seem as if the call is coming from 1-800 MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
The scammer may use various tactics to obtain or verify the beneficiary’s personal information, such as their new Medicare number.
It is important to know that CMS will not use 1-800 MEDICARE to make outgoing calls and individuals should not answer calls from 1-800 MEDICARE.
If you have given out personal identifying information accidently, please call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and request a new number. Let the 1-800 Customer Service Representative know you feel you were scammed.
Tips:
- Medicare will not call you to verify your new Medicare number or other personal information.
- Scammers may insist they want to replace your paper Medicare card with a plastic version. This is not true.
- Review your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) for mistakes.
If you or someone you know comes across such Medicare-related phone scams, call Virginia SMP at 1-800-938-8885 and the web site www.smpresource.org/Default.aspx