Organizations serving older Montanans are warning of a rise in scams targeting Medicare enrollees.
Cascade County and Missoula Aging Services said the scammers are offering free services, gift cards or medical equipment in exchange for a person’s Medicare number.
Renee Labrie-Shanks leads Montana’s Senior Medicare Patrol. She said scammers often say they need to “confirm” someone’s Medicare number to convince them to share it.
“They’re gonna get that number, they’re gonna bill Medicare for as much as they can, and they’re gonna cut and run. So, they’re so hard to find, and that’s why it’s so important to just not give it out in the first place,” Labrie-Shanks said.
Labrie-Shanks said enrollees can protect themselves by never giving out their Medicare number to someone they don’t know and trust. She also advises all Medicare recipients to read their summary notices and check the providers, dates of service and care for anything they don’t recognize.
Suspected Medicare fraud can be reported to a statewide hotline: 1-800-551-3191.
