Clark talked recently about the new Medicare prescription drug program that is launching next year and the fact that it’s so confusing. Well, crooks are taking advantage of that confusion and are trying to dupe seniors who are about to sign up for the program. Tons of information about these programs is showing up in mailboxes, so crooks have decided to start soliciting people over the phone for phony programs. Scams have popped up in Illinois, West Virginia and Missouri, according to the Kansas City Star. There are a lot of programs available and differing fees on top of that. So, crooks are joining in the game and are asking for seniors’ social security numbers, addresses. No one from Medicare should ask you for this information, so if you or your parents are getting calls BEWARE! The FBI is involved and is concerned about both fraud and ID theft. There are only 16 insurers in the program and the book you will get is called “Medicare and You.” The propaganda period has started and the sign-up begins Nov. 15. Seniors have to sign up for a program to be included next year. So, do your homework and go to
medicare.gov for more information.
Another scam out there is going around online. It’s a Yahoo Photos scam that claims to need your Yahoo login and password. Basically, you get a message telling you there are pictures from Yahoo.com that are available to see. When you click on the link, the site asks you for your information before you can see it. Don’t fall for it!
