Ohio Department of Insurance warns against ‘new Medicare card’ telephone scam

The Ohio Department of Insurance is warning Ohioans on Medicare to be cautious of telephone scammers posing as representatives of the government.

The scammers, who are using the “New Medicare Card” scam, are calling their intended victims and claiming that they need to turn in their paper card for a plastic card. The scammers then request the person’s personal information, including Medicare, Social Security, bank account, and credit card numbers.

Judith L. French, the Ohio Department of Insurance director, stressed that government agencies like the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and the Ohio Department of Insurance do not make unsolicited calls to Ohioans on Medicare.

Ohioans on Medicare can protect themselves from these scammers by being aware of the following tips:

• Never give personal information to anyone who contacts you unsolicited by telephone, email, text, or in person.
• Medicare will never call to sell anything, visit your home, or enroll you over the phone unless you called first.
• Medicare or Medicare health plans will only call and request personal information if you are a plan member or you called and left a message.

Ohioans who suspect they have been victimized by a Medicare scam should contact the Ohio Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-488-6070 or visit proseniors.org.

If they have questions about Medicare, they can contact the Ohio Department of Insurance’s Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) at 800-686-1578, email [email protected], or visit insurance.ohio.gov. OSHIIP is the state’s official Medicare educational and counseling program.