Medicare Open Enrollment Scams: What to Watch For
Every fall, Medicare open enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7. It's the one time each year you can switch your Medicare Advantage or prescription drug plan. Scammers know that too, so this is when they like to pretend to be Medicare or an insurance plan.
The main thing to remember: Medicare already has your information. According to the Federal Trade Commission, Medicare won't call, text, email, or message you out of the blue to ask for your Medicare number, Social Security number, or bank details.
The calls and messages to watch for
"We need to send you a new Medicare card"
The caller asks for your Medicare number, or a payment, to mail you a "new" card. Medicare sends cards automatically, and they're free. Anyone asking you to pay for one, or to read your number to them, is not Medicare.
Caller ID that says "Medicare"
Caller ID can be faked. A call can show Medicare's name or even its real phone number and still be a scammer on the other end. The name on the screen isn't proof of anything.
Texts and emails with a link
A message says you need to "review your plan," "confirm your benefits," or "claim extra savings" by tapping a link. The link usually leads to a fake page built to collect your personal or bank information.
Pressure, freebies, and "act today"
Offers of free equipment, gift cards, or extra benefits in exchange for your Medicare number. Or warnings that your coverage ends today unless you act right now. Real plans don't need you to decide on the phone in the next five minutes. Open enrollment lasts almost eight weeks.
What to do
- • Hang up, delete, or throw it away. Don't click links, open attachments, or call numbers from a message you weren't expecting.
- • Guard your Medicare number like your Social Security or credit card number. Share it with your doctor, your pharmacy, or a plan you contacted yourself.
- • Check it yourself. If you're worried a message might be real, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) directly. Don't use the number the caller or message gave you.
- • Read your statements. Look over your Medicare statements for services or equipment you never received, and ask about anything that doesn't look right.
- • Report it. Call 1-800-MEDICARE, then tell the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Free, trustworthy help with your plan
You don't have to sort out plan choices alone, and you don't have to trust a stranger on the phone to do it.
- • PA MEDI (formerly APPRISE) is Pennsylvania's free Medicare counseling program. Its counselors give objective help comparing plans. Call 1-800-783-7067, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- • Medicare's Plan Finder lets you compare plans yourself at medicare.gov/plan-compare.
Keep-by-the-phone Medicare scam checklist
Print this page section and keep it near your phone.
- Medicare will NOT call, text, or email me out of the blue asking for my Medicare number.
- New Medicare cards are free and mailed automatically. I never pay for one.
- Caller ID can be faked, even if it says "Medicare."
- I don't click links in texts or emails about my plan.
- I don't trade my Medicare number for gifts, free equipment, or "extra benefits."
- Open enrollment is Oct 15 – Dec 7. I never have to decide on the phone today.
- If I'm unsure, I hang up and call the number on my card myself.
- I check my Medicare statements for things I never received.
Medicare: 1-800-633-4227 (1-800-MEDICARE)
PA MEDI (free counseling): 1-800-783-7067
Report fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Your WC Tech Guy: (610) 716-3716
Got a call or message you aren't sure about? Paste it into the free Scam Checker for a list of possible warning signs. And that's exactly what I help with. I can look at it with you, explain what's going on in plain language, and walk through the steps you might consider. For choosing a plan, PA MEDI's counselors are the right people to ask. For more on common scams, see the Scam Awareness Guide, or get in touch.