Scams target elderly, mobile phone users and travelers

Molly Rosboch, a writer for the Yakima (Wash.) Herald-Republic newspaper, reported the following Medicare identity theft scam in the June 5 article, “Scammers ‘phishing’ for personal info pose as Medicare agents.” 

During the first week of June, Linda Badgley of Yakima received a telephone call from a woman who said she was a representative from Medicare. She told Badgley that the agency needed to send her a new card, but she first needed to verify Badgley’s personally identifiable information (PII). Badgley told the woman that she had previously contacted Medicare, and she knew this call was a scam. The caller quickly hung up.

Badgley was prepared for the bogus caller. Earlier, she had received a call from a man, who said he was from Medicare, who gave her the same pitch and requested her banking information. During both bogus calls, the scam artists already knew Badgley’s first and last name and her address.

Fraudsters have been very successful in the U.S. in foisting this scam on the elderly and robbing them of their money. Matt Serafini, in an article, “Medicare Phone Scams Continue Dogging Seniors Throughout 2013,” posted March 14 on the “ehealth Medicare” blog, reported the following:

“These cons are incredibly successful, costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually. … In these instances, fraudulent callers will attempt to trick their targets into divulging sensitive information. They may say that a new Medicare card has been mailed out, and then ask for your checking account number so Medicare can deposit funds directly into your account. Other phone calls will ask you to verify your Medicare number (which is also your Social Security number) so that you can be issued an ‘updated’ Medicare card. Another variation finds the caller stating that Medicare is ready to pay for medical supplies — an arthritis kit, for example — and requests your Social Security number for confirmation. No matter the scenario, the endgame is almost always the same: The caller is looking to gain access to your bank account, or steal your identity.”

Fraudsters target the elderly because they’re often lonely and trusting. They gather their victims’ PII before they call, work from a well-designed script and are empathetic and convincing.

Serafini offers the following advice in his blog posting to help protect the elderly: