"Medicare" calls about your new card and asks for your Medicare number
A caller claims to be from Medicare and says you need a new card, a back brace, or genetic testing — they just need to "verify" your Medicare number, Social Security number, and bank details. Medicare numbers are then used to bill Medicare fraudulently or to steal identity.
Also known as: Medicare card scam, free back brace scam, DNA testing Medicare fraud
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up. Medicare will never call you out of the blue asking for your Medicare number
- 2 Treat your Medicare number like a credit card number — share it only with doctors you have chosen
- 3 If you believe you owe Medicare anything, call them directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
- 4 Check your Medicare Summary Notice every quarter for billings you do not recognize
- 5 Report Medicare fraud to 1-800-HHS-TIPS or https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/
- 6 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.
Red flags
- ⚠ Medicare does not call beneficiaries about a new card or to verify your number — they communicate by mail
- ⚠ Offers of 'free' braces, knee wraps, COVID tests, or DNA kits that are 'covered by Medicare' if you give your number
- ⚠ Caller knows your name and address (easily bought) but asks for your Medicare or Social Security number
- ⚠ Pressure to act before benefits 'expire'
Medicare scams disproportionately target older adults, in part because the value of a stolen Medicare number can be very high — fraudsters bill Medicare for equipment, tests, or services the patient never received.
What’s the real cost when this happens to you? Even if it isn’t your money directly, your Medicare account can be flagged or temporarily suspended while the fraud is investigated, and untangling it takes months.
If you have already given out your Medicare number: call 1-800-MEDICARE, then file a report at 1-800-HHS-TIPS. Watch your Medicare Summary Notices closely for several months.