Grandpa,
Here is a scam that someone tried to pull on me about my Medicare Health Insurance. I got a phone call from someone who said she was with Medicare and needed to confirm that I received my new card. I told her I did and she asked me to give her the new number. I said that if she is confirming that I received the new card why does she need the new number? She told me that if I don’t give her the new number, my Medicare will be canceled. I gave her the new number. Next, she asked for my age, height, and health. She asked for a list of my medications. When I hung up, I just knew this was a fraud. I called the Medicare office. They told me that yes, indeed, the call was a fraud. They told me that their office never calls to get information. They thanked me for calling to report the fraud and told me to notify the police of the call. I did get a new card.
Grandpa,
I just got a phone call from someone claiming to be from Medicare. She wanted to know if I have yet received my new card. I asked her why she wants to know. She told me it is the FBI’s way of confirming some charges on my account. I refused and she told me the FBI will be out to talk with me if I don’t give her the information. I told her what the FBI can do to themselves!
I knew it was a scam for several reasons. First, as you have said in the past, government agencies do not call individuals like that. Nor does anyone ever tell a person up front that the FBI is going to show up at their door. FBI does not work like that. Mostly, though, I knew it was a fraud because I am not on Medicare! Yes, I lied to the lady. Why not? She lied to me, first.
Grandpa,
I got a call from my bank asking me to confirm my Social Security number so they can send out my earnings statement for taxes. I was afraid to because I hear about seniors getting robbed that way. I told the lady that I would go into the bank to find out why they don’t still have my number in their file. She told me that branch offices don’t have access to the files that need to be updated. I hung up on her and she called me back!
Grandpa says: Thank you for sharing your experiences. All scammers have two basic weapons in their arsenal. Fear and greed. If they can’t tantalize you into cooperating, they will try to scare you. You need to remember two things when you are on the phone; nothing is ever as good as it sounds, nothing is ever as bad as it sounds. It is never wrong to say, “I don’t give out information on the phone. Please send me a letter.” A legitimate agency would do so.
Got something stuck in your craw? Ask Grandpa. Address your letters to Ask Grandpa c/o The Voice, PO Box 123, Aurora, IL 60507 or send an E-mail to askgrandpa@thevoice.us.