Letters to the Editor - Seniors beware Medicare phone scams - Seniors, beware Medicare phone scams

Besides about a dozen calls I receive per week from someone who wants to ship me a free medical alert system, I received one call claiming, “This is Medicare calling. Are you John Bispala?” “Yes,” I replied.  She continued, “You will receive a new Medicare card in two weeks.” “Oh?” I questioned. “Do you receive payments deposited directly in your bank account?” “Yes.” “What is the name of the bank where they are deposited?”

“Now, wait a minute! Is this some kind of ‘phishing’ operation?” I asked. At that moment the other side of the phone line went dead.

I shouldn’t have given her even that much information before just hanging up; however, by then I started to realize a couple of facts: Medicare would hardly ever call me or you, and secondly, our local U.S. Social Security office handles all Medicare enrollment transactions, and why would they automatically be sending me a new card of any kind? We can call Medicare at any time by dialing 1-800-MEDICARE. 

Keep an evil eye out, folks! There’s so much fraud being played out on seniors! Even younger people are becoming victims of it. Don’t believe anybody who just calls, texts or emails without really knowing who they are.

John Bispala,

Webber-Camden