Will Medicare call me about a new card?

Asked by: Miss Elmira McLaughlin  |  Last update: October 30, 2022
Score: 4.7/5 (43 votes)

The short answer is no. Medicare is not replacing your paper card with a plastic chip card. Scammers tried this con a few years ago. They've apparently fired it up again, as a lot of viewers are telling us about getting this call.

Why am I getting calls about a new Medicare card?

Medicare beneficiaries should be wary of the following schemes: Attempts to “verify your identity.” Someone calls to tell you that you must provide identifying information to receive a new or updated Medicare card. They may even tell you there's a charge for the new card and request a credit card number as well.

Does Medicare ever contact you by phone?

A Medicare health or drug plan may call you if you're already a member of the plan. The agent who helped you join can also call you. A customer service representative from 1-800-MEDICARE can call you if you've called and left a message or a representative said that someone would call you back.

Why am I getting so many phone calls about Medicare?

Phone calls

Sometimes, they're selling phony products such as supplemental or prescription drug Medicare plans. The whole purpose of all of these calls is to obtain your personal information, whether that is your Medicare card number, your Social Security number, or banking information.

Is Medicare sending out new cards for 2022?

Are we getting new Medicare cards? Answer: This call has been coming to so many individuals in our area. I can confidently say NO, the caller is not from Medicare and you are NOT getting a new plastic (or metal) Medicare card.

Medicare CHIP Card Telephone Scam

18 related questions found

Can someone steal your identity with your Medicare card?

One common kind of healthcare-related fraud is medical identity theft, which happens when a thief uses personal information — including your Medicare number — to access your healthcare benefits. This could include: Filling prescriptions.

Why am I getting so many spam calls all of a sudden 2021?

“The reason for it is because they've sold your phone number to other scammers.” Quick said if the call is important enough, they'll leave a voicemail. She also wanted people to remember if it seems suspicious, to contact the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. Copyright 2021 KFVS.

How do I stop fake Medicare calls?

How to Stop Medicare Phone Calls. First, you'll want to be sure to add your telephone number to the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call List. To register, call from the phone which you want on the Do Not Call list. The phone number is 1-888-382-1222.

What happens if you call back a spam number?

“When you call back not only are you verifying the number is attached to a real person but that you're willing to make the effort in calling back an unknown number,” she says. “This puts you at risk for scammers to call you at a different time and try to scam you with another ploy.”

Should you decline spam calls or let them ring?

You're going to call the people that fell for your scam. But you should also call everyone who answered and hung up because every answered call is an opportunity to scam some poor sap. Some robocall scammers even make money when you don't ignore their calls. They call and hope you'll call back.

What area codes should you not answer?

Unless you know that a call is legitimate, it's best to avoid calls from the following international area codes with a +1-country code:
  • 232: Sierra Leone.
  • 242: Bahamas.
  • 246: Barbados.
  • 284: British Virgin Islands.
  • 268: Antigua and Barbuda.
  • 345: Cayman Islands.
  • 441: Bermuda.
  • 473: Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

Does * 61 block unwanted calls?

Receive an unwanted call? Press *60 and follow the voice prompts to turn on call blocking. Press *61 to add the last call received to your call block list. Press *80 to turn call blocking off.

What to do if you accidentally said yes to a scammer?

What should you do if you receive such a call? Hang up immediately, or better yet, don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you think you may have been targeted by this or another scam, check your credit card, telephone and utility bills.

What does it mean when you call someone and it hangs up right away?

If this happens, it's usually for one of two reasons: The phone is not on – either the battery died or the person has turned their phone off. The phone is in airplane mode – Airplane mode is a function the phone's owner will use to disconnect it from the service.

How do spammers get your number?

Most telemarketers purchase phone numbers from third party data providers. Here's how those providers may have gotten your number, according to the Better Business Bureau: You called an 800, 888, and/or 900 number (they use caller I.D. technology and collect phone numbers).

How do I remove my number from spam lists?

You can remove your number by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to remove. Your number will be off the Registry the next day. Companies have to update their telemarketing lists within 31 days.

How do I report a phone number that keeps calling?

The FTC is the primary government agency that collects scam complaints. Report all robocalls and unwanted telemarketing calls to the Do Not Call Registry. Report caller ID spoofing to the Federal Communications Commission. You can report either online or by phone at 1-888-225-5322 (TTY: 1-888-835-5322).

How can you identify a scammer?

Four Signs That It's a Scam
  1. Scammers PRETEND to be from an organization you know. Scammers often pretend to be contacting you on behalf of the government. ...
  2. Scammers say there's a PROBLEM or a PRIZE. ...
  3. Scammers PRESSURE you to act immediately. ...
  4. Scammers tell you to PAY in a specific way.

How do you identify a spam call?

If you let the call go to voicemail, when you listen, you will know it is a fake call if the caller is making threats of arrest or demanding money. The caller may give a badge number and say your social security number is suspended, which is part of a goal to get your personal and banking information.

Does blocking spam callers do anything?

Call blocking can help stop robocalls from scammers. But some robocalls might still get through. If you get an illegal robocall, hang up. Don't press a number, which could lead to more robocalls.

Why robocalls win even if you don't answer?

But thanks to a recent study, this myth about putting the mute on robocalls has just been debunked. "We find no evidence that answering unsolicited calls increases the amount of unsolicited calls received, overturning popular wisdom," the researchers from North Carolina State University concluded.

Does ignoring robocalls make them stop?

Contrary to popular wisdom, we found that answering calls makes no difference in the number of robocalls received by a phone number. The weekly volume of robocalls remained constant throughout the study.

Why am I suddenly getting so many robocalls?

Robocalls are increasing in number because scammers can set up their fraudulent operations without much hassle. These are the steps they need to take: Buy millions of leads. Get into America's phone network.

Where do most robocalls come from?

A lot of robocalls come from fraudsters, who are trying to get a hold of sensitive information. If you want to protect yourself from scammers, you need to learn how to differentiate legal from illegal robocalls.

Do spam callers give up?

More than 80% of robocalls come from fake numbers – and answering these calls or not has no effect on how many more you'll get. Those are two key findings of an 11-month study into unsolicited phone calls that we conducted from February 2019 to January 2020.