Scam Alert: Caller offering you a “great deal” on Medicare or ACA? Just hang up

Milwaukee, Wis. – If you are adding or changing your Medicare or Healthcare.gov coverage during open enrollment, watch out for unsolicited calls claiming to “help” you find the best deal. Unfortunately, scammers see this open enrollment period as a chance to trick people out of money and personal information. Open enrollment runs through December 7 (Medicare) or December 15 (Healthcare.gov).

How this scam works

Open enrollment has just begun, but BBB Scam Tracker has already gotten numerous reports of scam calls pretending to be from Medicare. In one report, the target received “an automated message from Medicare and how they could help me. When I followed the prompts, it led me to a nice-sounding male who claimed they were working for Medicare.” In another report, the person received calls claiming, “I requested information from them about Medicare on the Medicare website, which I NEVER did.”

If you stay on the line, these callers allege they can enroll you in a better plan than what you currently have, according to Scam Tracker reports. This new plan is cheaper, and you can keep all the same services. To get started, all you need to do is provide some personal information, such as your Medicare ID number.

No matter how good the deal sounds and how convincing the caller seems, don’t do it! The call is a scam, and sharing personal information will open you up to identity theft.

How to spot this scam:

Selecting a health insurance plan can be challenging and complex. Be on the lookout for common red flags.

Be wary of anyone who contacts you out of the blue. Healthcare.gov and Medicare provide legitimate help with figuring out which plan is right for you. These people — sometimes called Navigators or Assisters — are not allowed to charge for their support. If someone asks you for payment, it’s a scam. You will also need to contact them. They will not call you first.

Be wary of free gifts and “health screenings.” Keep a healthy level of skepticism any time a broker offers you free gifts or other special deals. Never sign up with a broker who offers you an expensive sign-up gift in exchange for providing your Medicare ID number or additional personally identifiable information. Other times, brokers offer free “health screenings” to weed out people who are less healthy. This technique is called “cherry picking” and is against Medicare rules.

Read more tips. See the full BBB Scam Alert for more advice.

For more information

If you are unsure whether a call or offer is from Medicare or you gave your personal information to someone claiming to be with Medicare, call 1-800-MEDICARE to report it. If you suspect fraud when signing up for Affordable Care Act coverage, go to HealthCare.gov or call the Health Insurance Marketplace call center at 800-318-2596.

If you’ve been the victim of a scam, report it to BBB Scam Tracker. By reporting your experience, you can help others avoid falling for the same scam.

Want to receive emails that warn of scams? Subscribe to BBB’s weekly Scam Alerts.

For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.