Be aware of Medicare scam calls asking for personal information

The Jackson County Regional Health Center is circulating an important announcement.

They have been made aware that citizens enrolled in the SHIIP and Senior Medicare Patrol programs are receiving scam calls. These people in the calls are pretending to be a representative for medicare plans and are requesting social security numbers over the phone. The calls are stating that having that sensitive information is required for plan premium withholdings, which is NOT the case.

Medicare plan providers can set up premium withholdings without your social security number. Any calls that you receive that ask you for your sour SSN is a red flag, and if you call a provider and they do insist on your SSN, you can always speak to a supervisor.

They also remind everyone that caller ID can be easily faked, making it appear that a call is coming from a legitimate number. You can always call the number for your plan on the back of your card on the plans website.

Stay safe out there, and never give sensitive information out over the phone.