Scammers are offering “free” genetic tests and claiming
Medicare will cover it, so they can get your Medicare Number and
use it to commit fraud and identity theft. They are targeting
people through telemarketing calls, health fairs, and even
knocking on doors.
Only a doctor you know
and trust should order and approve any requests for genetic
testing. If Medicare is billed for a test or screening that was
not medically necessary and/or was not ordered by your doctor,
the claim could be denied. That means you could be responsible
for the entire cost of the test, which could be thousands of
dollars.
To protect yourself, do
not share your Medicare Number, Social Security Number, or other
personal information with anyone who offers to give you a "free"
in-person genetic screening or cheek swab, or a DNA testing kit
in the mail. If you get a genetic testing kit in the mail,
refuse the delivery or discard unless your doctor ordered it.
- A scammer will call
someone and inform them that due to "suspicious activity," their
SSN has been "suspended," and in order to reactivate it, they
need to either pay a small fee or "confirm" their SSN by reading
it over the phone. During 2017, the Social Security
Administration reported that 3,200 people had fallen victim to
this scam, for a total cost of $210,000. In 2018, that figure
rocketed to 35,000 victims and a total cost of $10 million.
During 2019, from February and March alone, over 36,000 people
were successfully scammed out of $6.7 million.
- First a scammer
will call your phone, being sure to only ring once, and then
hang up. They do this again and again, in the hope that you are
so flustered by the volume of missed calls that you do not
notice you're about to call a premium-rate toll number based in
some far-off country. You then get hit with a variety of
charges, none of which you will find out about until your next
phone bill, while the scammers walk away with a cut of the
proceeds. Caveat Emptor.