COLUMBUS – Ohio Department of Insurance director Judith L. French is urging Ohioans on Medicare to be alert for telephone scammers posing as representatives of the government to steal their personal information.
Called the "New Medicare Card" scam, the scammers are posing as employees of the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and even the Ohio Department of Insurance. They call their intended victims and say the person needs a new Medicare card or they need to turn in their paper card for a plastic card. The scammers then request the person's personal information.
Government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and the Ohio Department of Insurance do not cold call Ohioans on Medicare.
How Ohioans on Medicare can protect themselves:
Never give personal information, including Medicare, Social Security, bank account, and credit card numbers, to anyone who contacts you unsolicited by telephone, email, text, or in person, such as door-to-door sales.
Know that Medicare will never call you to sell anything, visit your home, or enroll you over the phone unless you called first.
Keep in mind that Medicare or Medicare health plans will only call and request personal information if you are a plan member or you called and left a message.
Ohioans who suspect or have been victimized by a Medicare scam should contact the Ohio Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-488-6070 or proseniors.org.
Ohioans with Medicare questions can contact the Ohio Department of Insurance's Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) at 800-686-1578, oshiipmail@insurance.ohio.gov, and insurance.ohio.gov. OSHIIP is the state's official Medicare educational and counseling program.