During the pandemic, they are often tested for COVID-19 several times and receive bills related to it. Most are free, but in some cases, you may have to pay for the test, or it may be covered by insurance or Medicare even if you don’t pay for it yourself. If you don’t have money to pay like this, you won’t be able to know if you are charged for services, you haven’t received because you don’t check specific expenses.
For this reason, fraudulent cases of fraudulent billing by stealing other people’s insurance or Medicare card numbers are frequently occurring.
Ann Conlin, of Ellicott City, Maryland, reported to local media last month that she noticed something strange on her Medicare bill. The bill states that he was paid $120 for a COVID-19 test at a clinic in Texas, but he said he had “never been to Texas and hadn’t had a COVID-19 test recently.” Mr. Conlin said, “I receive services from various medical institutions every month, so it is not easy to check the details, and if there is no co-payment, I just ignore it.”
According to data released by the U.S. Department of Justice in April, COVID-19-related scams involving theft of Medicare card numbers cost more than $490 million. Fraudsters who easily obtained someone else’s Medicare card number through hacking or voice phishing continue to charge false fees to save huge amounts of tax. Scammers presume that they can steal Medicare card numbers and use them at will without risk of being caught, targeting older people who are not good at checking complicated medical bills and paperwork.
For this reason, seniors should take good care of their Medicare card numbers, which can be used for identity theft, just like social security numbers. In modern society, personal information is a tradable asset. Be suspicious if someone asks for your Medicare card number, as social security numbers and Medicare card numbers are traded on the black market.
Department stores, shops, restaurants, etc. offer senior discount services and ask for a credit card number or lure them with free medical equipment or prizes. There are also cases where you give out your Medicare card number to a close acquaintance and end up at a loss. It’s also worth remembering that government authorities, such as Social Security and Medicare, won’t ask for personal information over the phone or email.