The New Medicare Card Call

The simulator

1. Step 1 of 5 First contact

   The phone rings. The caller ID says “Health Benefits Office”, and the woman on the line is friendly and patient.

   Incoming call

   Caller ID: Health Benefits Office

   1. Caller: “Hi there, this is Linda from the Medicare benefits office. As you may have heard, Medicare is sending out new plastic cards with a security chip this year.”
   2. Caller: “To send yours, I just need to verify your Medicare number and mailing address. There’s also a one-time $25 processing fee, which I can take by debit card.”

   Read this aloud

   What do you do?

   Not sure? Show a hint

   What is a real Medicare card made of, and what does it cost?

   1. Read her my Medicare number. She knows about the new cards, so she must be from Medicare.

      Risky choice

      Some people really are getting new cards this year, which is exactly why scammers use the story. With your Medicare number, criminals can bill Medicare in your name for tests and equipment you never get. The $25 fee also gives them your debit card details.

   2. Give my number to confirm it, but refuse the fee, because I’ve heard the cards are free.

      Risky choice

      Refusing the fee is good thinking, but your Medicare number is what the scammer really wants. It’s worth far more to them than $25, because they can use it to send Medicare bills for thousands of dollars.

   3. Hang up. Real Medicare cards are paper and free, and Medicare doesn’t phone about new cards. If I’m unsure, I’ll call 1-800-MEDICARE myself.

      Safe choice

      That’s exactly right. If you really are getting a new card, calling 1-800-MEDICARE yourself will confirm it. Nobody genuine will mind you hanging up.

   Red flags at this step

   • A call about a new Medicare card
   • A “plastic card with a chip” (real cards are paper)
   • A fee for a card (real cards are free)
   • Being asked to “verify” your Medicare number

   What's really going on

   From March 2026, about 1.3 million people really were sent new Medicare cards with new numbers, and scammers use that news as cover. The real new cards arrive with a letter from Medicare. The Center for Medicare Advocacy says: “Medicare will never contact beneficiaries by phone to issue a new card.” Real cards are paper, free, and don’t need activating. Caller ID can be made to say anything, including “Medicare”.

2. Step 2 of 5 The hook

   Suppose you hang up. The next week, at a community health fair at the senior center, one booth is offering something for free.

   A table with a bright banner: “FREE Genetic Cancer Screening. Know your risk.” A smiling woman in a white coat holds a cotton swab and a clipboard.

   1. Woman: “Would you like a free cancer screening? It’s just a quick cheek swab, and it tells you whether cancer runs in your genes.”
   2. Woman: “It’s covered 100% by Medicare, so there’s nothing to pay. I just need to copy your Medicare card and your doctor’s name.”

   Read this aloud

   What do you do?

   Not sure? Show a hint

   Who normally orders medical tests for you?

   1. Have the swab and hand over my card. It’s free, and it could catch cancer early.

      Risky choice

      The test isn’t really free. The company uses your Medicare number to bill Medicare, often for thousands of dollars, for a test your own doctor never ordered.

   2. Let them do the swab, but keep my Medicare card in my pocket.

      Better, but not the safest

      Keeping your card back is good, but they’ll often find another way to get your details, and a DNA sample is personal too. If you’re curious about genetic testing, ask your own doctor.

   3. Say no thanks, and ask my own doctor whether I need a genetic test.

      Safe choice

      That’s the safe choice. The government’s health fraud investigators advise making sure your own doctor approves any genetic test, and sharing your Medicare number only with your doctor’s office.

   Red flags at this step

   • “Free” medical tests offered by a stranger
   • Needing your Medicare card for something “free”
   • A test your own doctor hasn’t ordered

   What's really going on

   The HHS Office of Inspector General says these scams reach people through “telemarketing calls, booths at public events, health fairs, and door-to-door visits.” A doctor who has never met you may sign the order. Labs then bill Medicare, often $10,000 to $30,000 per test. HHS-OIG warns: “If Medicare denies the claim, the beneficiary could be responsible for the entire cost of the test, which could be thousands of dollars.”

3. Step 3 of 5 Afterwards

   A few weeks later, a box you didn’t order arrives with a knee brace inside. Medicare numbers can also leak through data breaches, so this can happen even to careful people.

   Home Medical Supply Direct

   Packing slip

   Item: Knee brace, hinged, 1 unit

   Ordered by: Dr. R. Kessler (telehealth)

   Billed to: Your Medicare benefits. No payment is due from you.

   Please keep this item. Returns are not accepted.

   Questions? Call (866) 555-0139

   Read this aloud

   What do you do?

   Not sure? Show a hint

   Did you or your own doctor order this? Have you ever met Dr. Kessler?

   1. Keep it. It’s free, and it might come in handy one day.

      Risky choice

      It isn’t free. The supplier has billed Medicare for it using your number. Keeping quiet lets the fraud carry on, and more boxes may follow.

   2. Call the number on the packing slip to ask why they sent it.

      Better, but not the safest

      It’s natural to want answers, but that number goes to the company that billed for it. They’re likely to say your doctor ordered it, and may ask you to confirm your details. Report it to Medicare instead.

   3. Refuse the delivery or return it, keep the packing slip, and report it to 1-800-MEDICARE.

      Safe choice

      That’s the right thing to do. Returning it and keeping the paperwork gives investigators the supplier’s name and the doctor’s name. Reporting it helps stop the bills.

   Red flags at this step

   • Medical equipment you didn’t order
   • A doctor you’ve never met
   • “No payment is due from you”

   What's really going on

   This is called medical equipment fraud. The Senior Medicare Patrol says it often starts when “a supplier requests your Medicare number at a presentation, during a sales pitch, or in an unsolicited phone call.” A “telehealth” doctor who never examined you signs the order. The Justice Department’s June 2026 fraud takedown included $3.7 billion in alleged false claims for catheters and other medical equipment.

4. Step 4 of 5 Afterwards

   Then your Medicare Summary Notice arrives, the statement that lists everything billed in your name. One line stands out.

   Your health coverage statement

   Summary Notice: claims processed in your name

   Genetic test, cancer panel

   Lab: Precision Gene Diagnostics

   Ordered by: Dr. R. Kessler

   Amount the lab charged: $12,000.00

   Knee brace, hinged

   Supplier: Home Medical Supply Direct

   Ordered by: Dr. R. Kessler

   Compare this notice with your own records of visits and tests.

   Read this aloud

   What do you do?

   Not sure? Show a hint

   Have you ever seen Dr. Kessler? Did you have a genetic test?

   1. Ignore it. Medicare paid, not me, so it’s not really my problem.

      Risky choice

      It’s easy to think that, but it does affect you. If Medicare turns the claim down, you could be asked to pay. And the criminals still have your Medicare number, so more fake bills can follow.

   2. Call the lab named on the notice and ask them to cancel the charge.

      Better, but not the safest

      Better than ignoring it, but the lab is the one that made the claim. It may brush you off or ask for more of your details. Report it to Medicare or your Senior Medicare Patrol, who can look into it.

   3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE or my Senior Medicare Patrol, and report the charges I don’t recognize.

      Safe choice

      That’s exactly right. Reporting charges you don’t recognize is how these schemes get found and stopped. Keep the notice and the packing slip together, in case anyone needs to see them.

   Red flags at this step

   • A charge for a test or equipment you never had
   • A doctor you’ve never met
   • A lab or supplier you’ve never heard of

   What's really going on

   Checking your Medicare Summary Notice is one of the best ways to catch this. Look for tests, equipment, doctors or dates you don’t recognize. Genetic tests are often billed at $10,000 to $30,000 each, which is why criminals want Medicare numbers so badly.

5. Step 5 of 5 Afterwards

   A few days later, the phone rings again. The caller ID says “Health Benefits Office” once more.

   Incoming call

   Caller ID: Health Benefits Office

   1. Caller: “Hello, I’m calling from the Medicare fraud unit. We’ve spotted a $12,000 charge on your account that looks like fraud.”
   2. Caller: “To reverse it and give you a new number, I need to verify your Medicare number, your Social Security number, and the bank account your benefits are paid into.”

   Read this aloud

   What do you do?

   Not sure? Show a hint

   How could this caller know about the $12,000 charge?

   1. Give the details. They know about the charge, so they must be from Medicare.

      Risky choice

      They may know about the charge because they, or people they work with, made it. With your Social Security number and bank details, criminals can open accounts in your name or empty your own.

   2. Hang up, and call 1-800-MEDICARE myself to report the charge.

      Safe choice

      That’s the golden rule. A call you make yourself, to a number you know is real, is the only way to be sure who you’re talking to. Medicare can tell you whether a new number is needed.

   Red flags at this step

   • A call about fraud soon after you’ve been targeted
   • Being asked for your Social Security number and bank details
   • The same caller ID as the first scam call

   What's really going on

   Criminals often come back to the same person, sometimes pretending to be the team that will put things right. The FCC says Medicare “will never call you uninvited to request personal or private information in order for you to get your new Medicare number and card.” A real fix never starts with a call asking for your numbers.