Over the last few weeks, we have had many people notify us that they have been receiving suspicious calls from people who claim to be from the “Medicare Pain Relief Management Department.”
Just this week Larry received a similar call, and he answered because it looked like a number that was very similar to his own. The caller knew his name and date of birth. When he asked why she was calling, she said, “I’m calling from the Medicare Pain Relief Management Department.”
Larry knew that Medicare never calls, so he started to play along. She said she was calling about the pain in his shoulder and offered a way to help relieve it at no cost to him. The funny thing is, Larry has no shoulder pain.
Eventually, she wanted his address, and it was at that point Larry informed her there is no such thing as the “Medicare Pain Relief Management Department.”
He also reminded her that Medicare never calls members about such matters.
She hung up immediately.
If you get a call like this, please remember two things:
- Medicare or Social Security won’t call you unless you request them to call you. So anyone claiming to be calling from Medicare is likely not telling the truth.
- Be careful when providing anyone with your information. Luckily the new Medicare ID numbers don’t have your Social Security number in them, but I don’t recommend you give out any personal information to anyone you don’t know and trust. That includes information like your address, phone number, Medicare I.D. number, doctors names, and prescription information.
When it comes to your personal information and Medicare, please make sure that you are protecting yourself from scams like this one.
