Medicare doesn't want your Social Security number, scammers do
Feb. 24—Mike Herring didn't recognize a number on his caller ID but answered anyway and was immediately sorry he'd opened the door to a scammer.
Herring does business in Lebanon with his cell phone. The call came from a Noblesville area code, and he thought it was a customer.
Herring is not alone. One in three scam victims takes the call because the number is familiar, according to a 2022 report. But scammers have learned to spoof area codes to catch victims unaware.
Lebanon Police Lt. Ryan Williamson's mother-in-law got a similar call from a local area code recently. The caller said her family member was in trouble, provided a case number, and said they'd call back about money.
"I told my wife it's a scam," Williamson said. "They want you to go to a store and get preloaded debit cards. And they prey on the elderly the most."
Americans lost $39.5 billion to scam calls last year. That was a 32.5% increase over 2021. About 68.4 million Americans lost an average of $577 last year, according to a recent study.
Hoosiers received an average of 2.7 robo calls per day, while the nationwide average was 3.7, according to another study.
"We get calls about scams probably just as much as we make traffic stops," Williamson said. "It's pretty common now. We've seen people get taken for thousands of dollars."
Scammers may call, text or email, posing as a victim's employer and ask the victim to buy prepaid debit cards for them. They may claim to be from a company with whom the caller does business and say there's a problem with their account.
"They said they were from Medicare and wanted to help me understand benefits I could have," Herring said. "But about 23 to 30 seconds into it, they wanted my Social Security number."
And that's when Herring knew for sure it was a fraudulent call.
No one from Medicare will ever ask for a Social Security number or banking information, according to Medicare.gov. Medicare doesn't even use or need Social Security numbers.
Sometimes scammers pose as police.
"We've seen many where the caller says they're an officer with the Boone County Sheriff's Office or the Lebanon Police Department," Williamson said. "They say there's a warrant out for your arrest and you can pay it over the phone. Police will never call you on the phone and tell you have a warrant. They come and see you.
"When in doubt, call 911 so a policeman can come to your house or call you. Mostly we like to come to the house and explain things and tell them there's nothing to worry about. And that way they see us and know we're not fake."
Police agencies throughout Boone County also make frequent visits to homes of victims and potential victims.
Most scam calls, texts and emails originate outside of the United States and the predators are tough to track down, Williamson said.
Scam calls should also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov/complaint, or the Federal Communications Commission online. Those agencies pursue the conviction of the scam artists.
