Medicare patients, others in county targeted by scam
Jan. 12—The local medical community is warning area residents about a potential scam targeting patients.
The office of Dr. Donna L. Schneider reported that two patients had been contacted by someone using its phone number.
"We had a couple of patients who called and they said they had received calls from some genetic testing place that was saying they knew the doctor's name," said Debra Lafon, with Schneider's office.
The caller asked for the patients' addresses and dates of birth, and advised the genetic testing kits would be sent. Lafon said they also knew the patients' medical histories.
"One patient said they actually called from our number and they were going to wait until they called back to get the information on how to receive the kit. We did not hear back from them as far as what happened with that," said Lafon.
According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers are offering free genetic testing kits that screen for heart conditions, cancer or other ailments
The scam is to steal Medicare information for fraudulent billing or identity theft.
Experts urge people to never give out their Medicare numbers and to remember that Medicare will never call to confirm personal information.
Anyone who falls victim to Medicare fraud can report it to local authorities and to medicare.gov.
