Reports of Medicare and impersonation scams are rising, but there are ways to prevent yourself from being scammed.
Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received nearly one million reports about impersonation scammers — people who pose as fake government agents, pretend grandkids, “bogus sweethearts” and others. These types of scammers include those who pose as Medicare representatives.
Almost $2.3 billion was taken from people by these scammers last year. So far this year, impersonation scams are still the most-reported fraud nationwide, FTC officials say.
These scams are not just limited to Medicare, but to other agencies as well, along with non-government entities. In May, the inspectors general for three federal agencies and departments — the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) — along with the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and the FBI warned that scammers were emailing and texting pictures of real and doctored law enforcement credentials and badges to prove they are legitimate and to scam people out of money.
No one in federal law enforcement will send photographs of credentials or badges to demand any kind of payment, and neither will government employees, according to the joint alert.
Scammers who use the word Medicare use it to get access to those who are most vulnerable — older generations. Scammers can figure out who these people are quick as…
