On Medicare in Texas? Get ready, that phone call is coming

In the state of Texas, approximately 1.5 million residents use the federally funded health care system known as Medicare. It is also estimated that, based on national averages, 16% of Americans have been victims of an online scam or attempted identity theft. That means about 240,000 Medicare beneficiaries could find themselves victims of a scam that’s now spreading across the country.

Just to put this into perspective, the number of potential victims of the Plastic Medicare scam is barely larger than the population of the city of Frisco, Texas. That’s a lot of scams and unfortunately, it’s a scam that targets our most vulnerable citizens.

The Federal Trade Commission says that across the country, fraudsters are posing as Medicare agents and offering to create a “durable” plastic Medicare card. The selling point is that the card won’t tear or deteriorate with age, as a paper card, like your Social Security card, likely will.

Scammers sweeten the deal by offering to send those who “take advantage of the deal” a free “Medicare approved” back brace or knee brace. All you have to do is give the scammer your Medicare information and they will take care of the rest. Seems like it’s too good to be true, right? It’s totally too good to be true.

The fact is that Medicare cards are made of paper. They are free to get once you have been approved. And your Medicare number should be guarded and protected, just like your credit card and bank account numbers. So if you get a call about a “fantastic plastic” card that you can use without worry, that’s when you need to start worrying.

The FTC suggests that you check your Medicare statement after each professional visit. You need to look for charges on the statement that do not belong. In many cases, the scammer would “double” the charges and then direct payment for these services to their accounts instead of those of your healthcare professionals.

What should I do if I receive a call offering a plastic Medicare card?

To hang up. The sooner you can hang up, the better. Hopefully your smartphone will recognize the incoming number as a scam call, but that may not be the case. Many scammers spoof official numbers to make the caller ID on your phone appear to be calling from a legitimate office. They are not.

After you hang up promptly, if you think your Medicare information or account has been compromised, you can call your Medicare office. When you make the call, you know the person on the other end is a legitimate representative. You can find the number on your paper Medicare card. If you can’t call your doctor’s office, they will help you.