Elder Affairs warns of Medicare scam

Scammer calls elderly, asking for personal information


The Florida Department of Elder Affairs has put out a warning about a scam that's targeting the elderly. Officials told Channel 4 that seniors are getting phone calls from people claiming to be from the Health and Welfare Department, which is not a real governmental department. Once on the phone, the scammer tells the person on the other line that they need personal details to issue them a new Medicare card.

"Which is not related to Medicare, such as their Medicare number, which in most cases is the social security number," said Florida Department of Elder Affairs' Andrea Gary. "And seniors are providing it because they're worried their benefits will be cut if they don't provide that information."

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Florida's Department of Elder Affairs told Channel 4 Wednesday that they are warning the elderly community about this scam. The department said Medicare representatives like the state's SHINE program would never ask for personal details unless they're called first.

"The scammers have found different ways to target as seniors have become more savvy and this is just one of the latest," said Gary.