Thursday, August 12, 2010 3:12 pm

TN SMP: Empowering Seniors to Prevent Healthcare Fraud, has been receiving calls about a scam targeting Medicare beneficiaries.

Someone is calling Medicare beneficiaries telling them that they need to get a “new Medicare card” because Medicare benefits are changing. The caller is then requesting banking information.

So far the calls that SMP has received are just to alert us of the scam. So far, no one that has called SMP has been fooled by the scammer.

The last report TN SMP received came from one of our own volunteers. The SMP Volunteer stated that he received three calls in the same day. The caller hung up after the SMP Volunteer told him that it,      ”sounded like a scam”.

TN SMP wants to remind you to be cautious giving personal information over the phone. Medicare will never call and ask for personal information over the phone.

If you would like to report alleged Medicare fraud, waste or abuse in Tennessee, call 1-866-836-7677. TN SMP is administered by the Upper Cumberland Development District, which contracts with Area Agencies on Aging and Disability across the State of Tennessee. SMP is funded in part by the Administration on Aging.