Your parents and friends over 64 may be targeted for a new scam that involves their medicare account.Thieves are going door to door telling people that they have a DNA test paid for by Medicare that helps with cancer prevention. They take a cheek swab and get your parent's medicare information. The test, of course, is a bogus DNA testing scam and the swab is tossed immediately.. They are doing this in order to see the medicare card and then use the information to commit identity theft or government fraud.
Juanita JImenez Soto of AARP says seniors are a favored target. "They think that older people are less likely to report a scam because they don’t know who to report it to, or they may even not know if they have been scammed at all! They could be embarrassed by being taken advantage of by a con artist."
She says if they are visited by a scammer to keep the door shut and call the police! The thief could be in the neighborhood still and will be caught and prosecuted. If the scammer calls on the phone, they should hang up and call the Medicare Fraud Line. 800-633-4227.