New Medicare cards are on their way starting in April. That means scammers are out in force ready to take advantage of what you don’t know about how Medicare and your new cards work.
The more you know, the better.
Whose idea was it to put your social security number directly on the Medicare ID card anyway?
Now, to protect Medicare members from identity theft and medical identity theft, new Medicare ID cards are coming out in April 2018, arriving until April 2019 that have an 11-character MBI (Medicare Beneficiary Identifier) number on it. 57 million Medicare members will be getting these cards. During the interim period, if you haven’t gotten your new card yet you can still just use your SSN.
These new cards are free, already activated, and involve no changes to your Medicare coverage. They will arrive by mail, and you will not be contacted via phone or email regarding these cards.
All of this is very important information to know because con artists are already out in force ready to sell you your new card, activate your new card, or ask for confidential information like your SSN or your parents’ names to make sure it’s really you who gets this new card.
As with all cons, scammers prey on misinformation and the possibility that you don’t understand standard Medicare procedures.
With this in mind, here are some safety tips to keep you safe while your new card is in the mail:
- Your new Medicare card is free! If anyone asks you to pay for it, it’s a scam.
- Medicare will never ask for your MBI or your SSN – they already have it!
- You don’t need to take any steps to apply for or activate your new Medicare card. If anyone asks you to do so, it’s a scam.
- Medicare will not contact you via phone or email. If anyone claiming to be Medicare does, it’s a scam.
If you will be enrolling in Medicare between April 2018 and April 2019 while the changeover is taking place, Medicare will typically still contact you via mail. However, you may get a legitimate phone call from Medicare if you are in this situation. NEVER take the caller for their word about who they say they are. Get a name and a phone number for them, then call Medicare back to verify the identity of the caller and the veracity of the issue at hand.
If you have any questions about MBI numbers, the only website to go to for answers is www.cms.gov.
Remember, you don’t have to apply for or activate your new card, the cards are free, and Medicare will NEVER ask you for your MBI or SSN because they already know it.