Medicare Card Scam Calls: What Medicare Will Never Ask

TL;DR: Medicare will not call you out of the blue for your Medicare number or personal information, and a new card is free. Callers who say you need a plastic or chip card, threaten to cancel your benefits or ask you to confirm your number are scammers, even if caller ID shows Medicare. Hang up, call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself and report the call to the FTC.

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For many older Americans the Medicare number is as valuable as a Social Security number, and scammers know it. The scripts change with the calendar, but the goal stays the same: get you to say the number out loud.

The scripts to hang up on

Senior Medicare Patrol, a federally funded group that raises awareness of Medicare fraud, says a call is a scam if the caller claims any of the following, as reported by VERIFY:

You are getting a new plastic Medicare card, or Medicare is switching to a card with a chip.
It is a new year, so you need a new card, or you need a black-and-white card.
They need your Medicare number to check whether you received the new one, or to confirm you have the right card.

The FCC adds that some callers pose as medical insurers and threaten to cancel your coverage unless you share information from the new card, in its consumer guide.

What Medicare actually does

Your new card is free. The FTC says Medicare will only ask you to verify information if you contact it first, and it will not try to sell you anything or tell you to pay for your card, in its consumer alert.
A CMS spokesperson told 13NewsNow that Medicare will never contact anyone for a Medicare number or other personal information unless the person gave permission in advance.
A plan you already belong to may call about your coverage, but a stranger asking for your number is not that.

Caller ID can lie

The FTC warns that caller ID might show Medicare's name or number but can be faked. If a call worries you, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) yourself. The CMS scam alert gives the same advice and reminds people to destroy their old card once the new one arrives.

Why they want the number

According to the FCC, identity thieves can use a beneficiary's information to file false claims, fill prescriptions or sell the details to other criminals on the dark web. Fake claims can also affect your records long after the call is forgotten.

If you shared your Medicare number or bank details

Call 1-800-MEDICARE and ask what to do about a possibly compromised number.
Read your Medicare Summary Notices for services or supplies you never received.
If you gave bank details, tell your bank immediately.
Report the call to 1-800-MEDICARE and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also contact the HHS fraud line at 1-800-HHS-TIPS, and your local Senior Medicare Patrol.
Get free help comparing plans from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program instead of from cold callers.

Consider a credit freeze if you shared other identifiers; see re-securing your identity after a scam.

Helping an older relative

Older adults are often embarrassed to report a call, so start the conversation before something happens. Our guides on protecting aging parents' digital footprint and grandparent scams give scripts to use. Similar agency-impersonation calls include Social Security impersonation calls and bank and government imposter calls.

FAQs

Is Medicare sending new cards?

Calls about a new Medicare card that ask for personal information are a scam. Medicare says it will not call you uninvited to request personal information to get a new number or card, and there is no fee for a card.

Will Medicare ever call me?

Medicare says it will not contact you for your Medicare number or personal information unless you gave permission in advance. A plan you already belong to may call about your coverage.

How do I report a Medicare scam?

Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), then report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also contact the HHS fraud line at 1-800-HHS-TIPS or your local Senior Medicare Patrol.

Can caller ID show Medicare and still be a scam?

Yes. Caller ID can be faked, so a call that shows Medicare's name or number may still be a scam. Hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself.

What if I gave my Medicare number to a scammer?

Call 1-800-MEDICARE, review your Medicare Summary Notices for services you did not receive, tell your bank if you shared financial details, and report the call to the FTC.

Fraudsters build call lists from leaked and public data, so see what is exposed about you or a parent with the free digital footprint checker.

Curious what's already out there? Scan My Shadow checks a phone number and email across 1,500+ sources and sends a clear report — no guesswork, just facts. Start your scan.

Medicare Card Scam Calls: How to Spot Them and Report Them