Scammers target Medicare beneficiaries to obtain their Medicare, Social Security, and bank account numbers, which they can use for a variety of fraudulent purposes.

• Sometimes the Medicare number is simply stolen by an employee at a nursing home, long-term care facility, hospital, clinic, etc. and then sold to organized crime units or gang leaders, who use the information to bill Medicare.
• In other cases, perpetrators provide an offer for “free services” but require the person’s Medicare number to provide those services.
• In some instances, scam artists target financially needy individuals and offer to pay them for their Medicare number or pay them to receive services they don’t need.