Medicare Card Scam

The guest for Thursday’s Senior and Law Enforcement Together or SALT gathering in Fond du Lac was a member of the Senior Medicare Patrol. Fond du Lac Senior Center Director Cathy Loomans says that is a regal group that watches for scammers who might victimize people on Medicare. She says one instance people may be familiar with was the Scooter Store, which sold mobile scooters and told people in their television commercials that Medicare would practically pay for it all. She says with the Federal Government issuing new Medicare cards that use random numbers instead of Social Security numbers scammers are taking advantage of the transition period. She says scammers are calling seniors saying they are part of the new card process. They then ask you to verify your Social Security number or existing Medicare number so they can issue you a new card. She says you will get notification in the mail, but no one should be calling you about the new card. She says the new cards should all be issued by April of 2019.