Monday, January 20, 2025

Scammers Weekly: Be suspicious of anyone who calls, emails or visits you promoting a Medicare plan

(WYDaily/ Courtesy of Utilities United Against Scams)

WYDaily has collaborated with AARP to raise awareness about scams people need to watch out for.

A scam will be featured every Wednesday, so be sure to always check wydaily.com and be in the know.

Here’s this week’s edition:

Medicare open enrollment season is here, which means it is also Medicare fraud season. Between now and Dec. 7, seniors across the country will be shopping for the best deal for their health care dollar. Unfortunately, some of the deals they will be offered won’t be deals at all.

Medicare scams are expected to spike during open enrollment season with scammers posing as impostors calling and emailing seniors offering free gifts or limited time offers, according to AARP.

Those scams are all designed to capture your Medicare number so the crooks can charge Medicare for services you didn’t receive.

Be suspicious of anyone who calls, emails or visits you promoting a Medicare plan, according to AARP.

Legitimate health plans can only contact you if you’ve requested information. AARP advises to not give personal information to anyone who calls or visits out of the blue and always review your Medicare statement to ensure fraudulent charges aren’t included.

Visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network by clicking here or call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 to report a scam or get help if you’ve fallen victim.

John Mangalonzo
John Mangalonzohttp://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media’s Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.

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