According to a recent report on Keloland.com, seniors in South Dakota have recently been receiving phone calls from people claiming to be selling medical supplies. However, the catch is that in order to take advantage of these free, or deeply discounted medical supplies, seniors need to provide their Medicare number, as well as personal information. But there are no medical supplies being offered; it’s a scam to steal identities.
“There are legitimate providers that provide these services, but they're not going to call you. If you're on the do not call list, it's illegal to call you and solicit to sell these products,” Delane Smith, Director of Consumer Protection with the South Dakota state government, told the news source.
Smith added that Medicare does not make unsolicited calls, and neither do companies which work with Medicare.
According to the news source, Medicare fraud is one of the primary reasons for increasing healthcare costs and taxes, and while seniors and retirees can’t stop those fees, they can protect themselves by refusing to give out personal information in unsolicited calls.
For seniors living in assisted living and Alzheimer’s care communities, refusing to give out personal information can save thousands of dollars.