Ask Amy: Medicare fraud warning signs

This Saturday, Medicare open enrollment starts, but be wary of thieves using this time to target people. If you’re not on Medicare, you probably have an aging loved one who is, so keep an eye out for the warning signs.

Medicare will never call you

First, someone from Medicare will not call you even during this popular sign-up period. This is the first fraud warning sign from AARP. Here are a few tricks would-be scammers may use to try and get your information.

• Someone might call impersonating a Medicare employee saying they need to verify personal information or pay a processing fee to get a new card.
• They might ask for your Medicare number to “activate” your card or confirm you received it.
• The person may threaten to cancel your Medicare coverage unless you provide personal information.
• Another trick is to claim there has been suspicious activity on your Medicare account and you need to verify your identity to avoid losing your benefits.

If any of this happens, you’ll want to call 1-800-Medicare and report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

Learn more about Medicare open enrollment

In this week’s Ask Amy episode, we go over everything you need to know about this open enrollment period. Alex Rischan, with the Houston-Galveston Area Agency on Aging, goes over plan details and what you can do now to prepare.

If you’ve got a question or topic idea for me, email AskAmy@kprc.com.