It appears fraudsters are taking advantage of a short-term effort by the federal government to replace all Medicare cards, according to Marietta police.
Since April 1, the Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started mailing out new cards and replacing the social security number that had been used with a new alphanumeric Medicare Beneficiary Identifier.
But the agency has already gotten reports of scammers calling some Medicare recipients falsely claiming they need to pay before receiving a new card.
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The new MBI will be eleven characters long. If you’re wondering if yours is a fake, the cops said the letters S, L, O, I, B nor Z will ever be used.
If you receive a card with any of these letters, police ask that you contact Medicare at 1-800-633-4227.
The federal agency said new cards will start being sent out in Georgia after June.
“Protect yourself by learning about the program and refusing to give out any personal information over the phone if someone calls you,” Marietta police said in a news release.
You can do so by watching the video below:
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