Fake Medicare phone calls

[Travel60]

I am inundated with calls both at my primary residence (address for all business) and my seasonal home. I try not to answer calls where I don't recognize the number or that aren't identified but often I'm waiting on a service person or a medical call back. And it's a (usually) non-native English speaker blabbering about Medicare.

My question is, what do they get out of it? If I change to another plan do they get a commission? - Medicare plans are regulated. Or is there a fake Medicare they try to get you to buy? Or just going after Medicare and credit card numbers?

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I don’t think I’d ever sign up for Medicare over the phone. When my husband retired last year we went to a local agent who specializes in health plans and she was wonderful. Doesn’t cost you anything to use their services. She explained everything, recommended a few plans based on his needs and set him up. I don’t trust giving anybody personal information over the phone.

 

[_19disnA]

I think most of those scam calls are an attempt at identify theft or to have you give them personal information to use for some illegal pupose. I seriously doubt they are actually selling any kind of medical insurance. No legit business will ever call you asking to 'verify' your social security #, pin code, account # or other simliar things. NO ONE should ever give out that type of information to an unsolicited caller. Even if it sounds legit, I would hang up and look for a real phone number on a reputable website to call them back if in fact there is some issue with your coverage, billing, etc.

The only call I ever get from anyone in the medical busines is to confirm an existing appointment or in rare cases, provide test results from something. Any of those callers who can barely speak English or mumble some vague reason for calling are probably running a scam out some foreign call center and people should just hang up.

 

[Her Dotness]

We used to get machine messages saying "your" Medicare has been canceled, not Medicare insurance plan, but claiming Parts A&B had been canceled.

I got some laughs at their audacity, but I suspect elders who have dementia or are easily confused become frightened and give out the requested personal information or pay the fee to get it reinstated.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, they get a commission. I went through a broker too that I called. I would not do business with someone making a cold call.

 

[barkley]

some are paid hourly, some are strictly commission based-some a combo of the two.

when i worked for dshs there were mutliple plans people could sign up for under medicaid and those plans hired companies who had people do cold calls to solicit people to change plans. callers were paid a commission. i recall a MAJOR lawsuit one of my clients triggered when her plan changed and she swore up and down she never agreed to it (her kid had a medical issue and there was no way she was EVER going to change the doctor who was treating). i referred her to an ombudsman who looked into it and they found that the paperwork had been falsified by the contractor which triggered a massive audit review for anyone that company had been involved in changing plans on going back a couple years. sure enough-hundred and hundreds of falsified changes for which they were prosecuted AND the MAJOR medical provider was discovered to have had some insight in the falsification so they had to pay substantial fraud penalties.

just don't answer or if you do say NOTHING so they don't have your voice to AI manipulate and substantiate a change of plan.

 

[Travel60]

OP here...just to be clear, I would never give any info to these people and I know not to use the word "yes"...just can't figure out their purpose for calling.

 

[tvguy]

OP here...just to be clear, I would never give any info to these people and I know not to use the word "yes"...just can't figure out their purpose for calling.

My standard response is "what can I help you with".

 

[barkley]

My standard response is "what can I help you with".

i don't say anything when i answer a phone on the odd occasion i answer not reccognizing the number. i stay silent b/c the autobot systems don't seem to do anything until a voice is heard. if someone says something i immediatly default to 'who is calling please?'. i usually get hung up on.

 

[_19disnA]

I think those auto-dialer systems wait until the phone gets answered to relay it to a live operator. Have had occasion when not home and my answering machine picks up, then part of the caller's pitch gets recorded. If I answer and someone is mumbling nonsense in a heavy foreign accent I hang up. Most of the time I don't answer the phone if I don't know the number.

No idea if saying 'yes' is an issue or not. Have seen some articles saying that is mostly urban legend and to what would they be comparing that voice?

 

[Her Dotness]

My standard response is "what can I help you with".

I'm not that nice. I'm monumentally disinclined to help anyone calling to sell me something, scammer or not.

I say, "What do you want?" No hello, just that if in a good mood because the nuisance call hasn't come when I'm expecting an important one. Otherwise, I might use DH's intense, "WHAT?"

I'm old enough to miss the days when you could be assured callers were someone or a business you knew. Or, when advised there was no one by that name at your number, you got, "I'm sorry. I have the wrong number." Ah, yes, those blissful times are gone thanks to the "delights" of technology.

 

[Mysterian]

I got one of these on my work phone one time, which was an obvious red flag. Not to mention I'm too young for Medicare, so whatevs, you fakers.

 

[_19disnA]

And often wonder what type of person takes a job at some foreign call center making calls that are clearly part of a scam?

 

[tvguy]

i don't say anything when i answer a phone on the odd occasion i answer not reccognizing the number. i stay silent b/c the autobot systems don't seem to do anything until a voice is heard. if someone says something i immediatly default to 'who is calling please?'. i usually get hung up on.

I don't have caller ID or call blocking on my landline, which is where I get all those calls, although I have considered it for the 2 and 3 times a day Comcast automated calls. Friends tell me caller ID is a waste of money because the number is different with every spam call or blocked. Had heart surgery a couple of weeks ago and ALL my Doctors call from Blocked ID numbers, so I HAVE to at least answer the phone.

 

[_19disnA]

Yes, caller ID can have fake/spoofed information. It seems the phone companies should be able to prevent the manipulation of that data but likely they don't really care and would rather sell you the 'caller ID' feature even if it might show bad information............LOL.

 

[robinb]

I'm not that nice. I'm monumentally disinclined to help anyone calling to sell me something, scammer or not.

I say, "What do you want?" No hello, just that if in a good mood because the nuisance call hasn't come when I'm expecting an important one. Otherwise, I might use DH's intense, "WHAT?"

I'm not even that nice. I drop f-bombs on them.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Additional PSA - I got an automated scam call that stated they were returning MY call about Social Security benefits. The voice was very believable - didn't sound like it was computer generated at all. It would ask a question, then give you a second to respond, then pick up on the script again. I caught on and started responding with questions like "what is your favorite color". It went right back to the script, then hung up on me when I asked, "how long have you been scamming people?".

LSS - any call TO you from Social Security, Medicare, etc. are ALL scams, and they are the scummiest of scams because they prey on people with fixed incomes and diminished intellect. Shame on all of them - just hang up.

 

[robinb]

Additional PSA - I got an automated scam call that stated they were returning MY call about Social Security benefits. The voice was very believable - didn't sound like it was computer generated at all. It would ask a question, then give you a second to respond, then pick up on the script again. I caught on and started responding with questions like "what is your favorite color". It went right back to the script, then hung up on me when I asked, "how long have you been scamming people?".

LSS - any call TO you from Social Security, Medicare, etc. are ALL scams, and they are the scummiest of scams because they prey on people with fixed incomes and diminished intellect. Shame on all of them - just hang up.

I get a scammy robot phone calls from some police fund. It's always the same warm, friendly, deep male voice. I ask it, "Are you a robot?" and it chuckles and says, "No, I'm a real person." and then continues with the script.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I like the way this guy thinks

https://www.wsj.com/articles/people-hire-phone-bots-to-torture-telemarketers-2dbb8457

 

[robinb]

I like the way this guy thinks

https://www.wsj.com/articles/people-hire-phone-bots-to-torture-telemarketers-2dbb8457

Bummer, it's behind a paywall.