Beware of Health Care Scam!

Thanks to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services for this warning:

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disabilities Services (KDADS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, is warning consumers nationwide about a scheme related to the Affordable Health Care Act. The FTC, in its campaign to educate the public, advises that common sense is the best protection.

Scammers posing as federal employees are making phone calls to consumers informing them that they're among the first Americans selected to receive health-insurance cards as part of the Affordable Care Act. The FTC warns that part of the scam includes asking consumers for personal data, including name, address, phone number and bank account number, to receive a nonexistent medical card from the government.  For this scam in particular, the caller might have the routing number from your bank and then use that information to get you to reveal the entire account number or ask for your credit card, Social Security number or Medicare ID.

KDADS and the FTC instruct consumers not to give out personal or financial information in response to unsolicited phone calls, emails, or knocks on your door. Scam artists want your information to commit identity theft, charge your existing credit cards, debit your checking account, open new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, write fraudulent checks, or take out loans in your name.

If someone who claims to be from the government calls and asks for your personal information, hang up. It's a scam. The government and legitimate organizations you do business with already have the information they need and will not ask you for it.

The next step is to file a complaint. Consumers can file at ftc.gov or call 1-877-FTC-HELP. If you think your identity has been stolen, visit ftc.gov/idthef t or call 1-877-ID-THEFT. You also can file a complaint with your state Attorney General.

In Kansas, consumers also can contact KDADS’ Senior Medicare Patrol Program, a statewide project of which AARP Kansas is a member, designed to reduce Medicare & Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse, at 785-296-0377 or 1-800-860-5260.