June 1, 2010 :: Community

Attorney General Warns Against Scam Against Seniors

The Medicare “Spoofing” Scam:
How Seniors Can Protect Themselves

Medicare “spoofing” is an emerging scam that uses caller ID to trick unsuspecting seniors into revealing sensitive financial information. If thieves are given this information, you may quickly find yourself the victim of an emptied bank account.

I recently heard that some scam artists claiming to be Medicare representatives have the ability to make calls that appear on my caller ID to come from a real government agency. Is this true? If so, how can I determine if a call is legitimate and protect myself from fraud?

Unfortunately, some scam artists have developed the ability to falsify the phone number displayed on caller ID so the call appears to come from a legitimate source. This practice is called “spoofing.” Some con artists “spoof” the contact information of state or federal government agencies to deceive seniors.

The scam you describe is fairly common. In this type of scam, Medicare recipients receive a call from a con artist claiming to be a Medicare representative. The con artist falsifies the number that shows up on the caller ID so that it appears to come from a government agency. The caller explains (falsely) that the new Health Care Reform Law requires new Medicare cards to be issued to each recipient. The caller then asks the recipient to provide his or her bank account information in order to activate the new Medicare benefits.

Because the caller ID indicates that this call is from a legitimate government agency, Medicare recipients may be more likely to believe the caller and provide the requested information. Unfortunately, if they do so, they will have fallen victim to the spoofing scam.

So how do you know whether to provide information when the request seems to come from a legitimate source? The most important rule to remember in situations such as these is to never give out personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call and know with whom you are speaking.

It is also important to check your credit report regularly to ensure that your personal and financial information is secure. You are entitled to free annual reports from each of the three major credit agencies. To check your credit report, call 1-877-322-8228 or 1-877-730-4104 (TTY) or visit www.annualcreditreport.com.

If you believe you are the victim of a Medicare “spoofing” scam, please contact the Illinois Attorney General’s Senior Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-5377 or 1-800-964-3013 (TTY) to file a consumer fraud complaint.

For more information on this and other scams, please visit www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov.