Medicare

June 05, 2017

Don’t Become a Victim of Medicare Card Fraud

From the Pierce County Human Services: Don’t Become a Victim of Medicare Card Fraud

Medicare will begin sending beneficiaries new cards in 2018. It won’t have your Social Security Number on it. It will contain your brand-new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI that replaces it. Scammers are already taking advantage of this confusion to commit fraud. Currently, most people’s Social Security number is their Medicare card number, which makes collecting Medicare numbers an easy target for scammers to steal your identity, open new credit cards or take out loans in your name.
The new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier card number will not be tied to your Social Security account and will provide more security. Some scammers are calling beneficiaries claiming to be with Medicare and might ask you to confirm your current Medicare number before you can get your new card. Others say there is a charge for the new card and are collecting beneficiaries’ personal information.
Here are the facts: There is no charge for the new Medicare card and no one from Medicare will ever call you for your information. They already have it. If you receive any calls or suspicious solicitations, hang up and call the Washington State Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-800-562-6900.

For more on the new changes to your Medicare card, visit Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.