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Illinois SMP Program Fraud Alerts
The Illinois SMP Program sends email Fraud Alerts every Friday. These alerts contain fraud-related news articles, information about current scams in Illinois or other parts of the United States, and useful healthcare or fraud-related resources. If you would like to be added to the Illinois SMP Fraud Alert email list, please contact:
Erin Weir, Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator
Phone: (800)699-9043, (708)383-0258
TTY: (708)524-1653
Fax: (708)524-0870
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Illinois SMP Fraud Alert - April 9, 2010
Dear SMP readers,
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Illinois SMP (“Senior Medicare Patrol”) Fraud Alert. Below you will find up-to-date information about health reform scams and census scams, and an announcement from the Social Security Administration.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Erin Weir, MSW, LSW, Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator
AgeOptions
1048 Lake Street, Suite 300
Oak Park, IL 60301
phone (708)383-0258 fax (708)524-0870
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Please share this Fraud Alert with colleagues, consumers, or other professionals in your area. If you have any questions about the Illinois SMP program, or to receive these Fraud Alerts directly, please contact Erin Weir, Healthcare Consumer Protection Coordinator at AgeOptions.
What you will find in this week’s Fraud Alert
- Beware of Health Reform Scams
- Census Information & Census Scams
- Social Security Provides Information on Health Topics
- Fraud in the News
Beware of Health Reform Scams
Attached to this email is an alert from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office regarding a Medicare “spoofing” scam. This scam involves a phone call in which the caller states that he/she is from Medicare, and due to the new health care reform law, Medicare has to issue new Medicare cards. The caller then claims to need bank account information to “activate” the new benefits. These scammers are generally “spoofing” the call, which means that the call recipient will see a number on his/her caller ID that is NOT the correct phone number for the caller. One of the
spoofed” numbers being used in this scam is 866-234-2255. Consumers should also be aware that in scams like this, the caller may use a number for a legitimate source, to make it appear as if the call is legitimate. If anyone has experienced this scam, you can report the incident to the Illinois Attorney General’s Senior Consumer Fraud Hotline at 1-800-243-5377 or 1-800-964-3013 (TTY). (See attached alert for more information.)
In addition to this alert, here are two articles about current scams where con artists are posing as representatives of the government and/or the new health reform legislation in some way:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/ story.php?storyId=125422561&ps=cprs
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10298368
Census Information & Census Scams
Today’s AARP Bulletin featured an article that explains the census long form, or American Community Survey, that some U.S. residents may receive after they have mailed in their short (10 question) census form. The article reminds consumers that even this long form will NEVER require your Social Security number, credit card, or banking information. Real census forms and real census workers will also never ask for payment or donations.
The Federal Trade Commission also released 2 Consumer Alerts this week involving the census – the first is a warning about census scams, including fake census emails, and the second is a warning about Census job scams:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt175.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt176.shtm
Social Security Provides Information on Health Topics
The Social Security Administration is now making available 2 health tools to individuals applying for disability benefits. The health tools recommended by SSA are two internet sites hosted by the U.S. Department of health and Human Services. One site, www.Healthfinder.gov, has resources on a wide range of health topics selected from over 1,600 government and non-profit organizations bringing the best, most reliable health information on the Internet. Individuals applying for disability benefits can use this site to gain a better understanding of and treatment for their medical problems. A second site, www.healthfinder.gov/rxdrug, provides access to 475 patient prescription assistance programs offering over 2500 drugs at low or no-cost to qualified individuals lacking health insurance. (See www.socialsecurity.gov/applyfordisability for more information.)
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Fraud In The News
The following are current news articles about health care and fraud issues.
- “AARP Scam Alert: Be the One That Got Away From Identity Thieves”
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/scamalert/articles/scam_alert_be_the_one_that_got_away_.html?cmp=NLC-RSS-DAILY-BULLETIN
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Fraud Alerts contain information about current scams taking place in Illinois, announcements and updates about programs or services related to health care and/or fraud protection, and links to news articles about health care and fraud topics. Please forward any recommendations or announcements that you would like to be included in a future Fraud Alert to erin.weir@ageoptions.org.
AgeOptions, the Area Agency on Aging of Suburban Cook County, is committed to improving the quality of life and maintaining the dignity of older adults and those who care about them – through leadership and support, community partnerships, comprehensive services, accurate information and powerful advocacy.
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Confidentiality notice: This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it are confidential and may be protected by legal privilege. This email is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom this email is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, or distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately by email and delete this email from your system.