August 23, 2024 • 25 mins
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated, so it’s important that we stay one step ahead. In this episode, get essential tips from Crystal Cuellar, Rachel Granetz and Val Guzman on how to protect yourself against scams and how to find help in case you witness abuse. Hear how AgeGuide’s funded partners and other community helpers can assist you.
If you believe you have been a victim of abuse or scam, visit our website for more information: https://ageguide.org/fraud-assistance/
Resources
Consumer.ftc.gov
Reportfraud.ftc.gov
Facebook: facebook.com/AgeGuide
Twitter: twitter.com/AgeGuide
Instagram: instagram.com/theageguidepodcast
Podcast: ageguide.org/the-age-guide-podcast
Website: ageguide.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome to the Age Guide, Perspectives
on the Aging Journey.
We are here to be your personalguide and enhance your quality
of life on the road ahead.
At Age Guide, it's our missionto be a vital resource and
advocate for people as we age byproviding thoughtful guidance,
(00:24):
supportive services, andmeaningful connections.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
In this episode, we're going to continue our
discussion on scams and bringmore awareness to programs and
advocates that work to protectolder adults from scammers.
Age Guide has been organizingscam awareness events throughout
the communities we serve inpartnership with state and
federal programs, including theAdult Protective Services
(00:52):
Program, the Federal TradeCommission, and the Illinois
Senior Medicare Patrol Program.
Together, we've been workingtowards building a more informed
community.
Now, we're bringing our scamawareness event to you.
Listen in to learn more abouthow resources and connections in
the community can help protectyou against fraud and scams.
(01:16):
Thank you for being here.
So let's jump right in.
Crystal, can you introduceyourself and tell us about the
program that you work with?
SPEAKER_02 (01:25):
Sure, my name is Crystal Quare and I'm an Adult
Protective Service caseworkerwith Senior Services Associates
in Aurora.
My jurisdiction is Kane, Kendalland McHenry Counties.
And what Adult ProtectiveServices or APS is, it's
governed by the Illinois AdultProtective Service Act and it's
(01:47):
managed by the IllinoisDepartment on Aging and the
Regional Area Agency on Aging.
So the purpose of the program isto provide intervention to
adults over 60 years old and toindividuals 18 to 59 with a
disability who may be a victimof abuse, neglect, exploitation,
or self-neglect.
(02:09):
This would be at the hands of acaregiver, a family member, or a
friend with a continuingrelationship.
Now, abuse is defined asknowing, intending, or a
careless act that causes harm.
And this could include physical,sexual, or emotional abuse, as
well as financial exploitation,neglect, and self-neglect.
(02:32):
I want to talk about some of thecommon risk factors of abuse,
which are dementia, mentalhealth, and substance abuse
issues of the victim or theabuser, social isolation, and
poor physical health.
In addition, various types ofabuse There are also some common
signs to be on the lookout for,such as behavior changes,
(02:54):
anxiety, depression, fear,increased isolation, sudden
changes in bank accounts, trustor wills, and unpaid bills.
There may be obvious physicalsigns, such as poor living
conditions, like an hoardersituation, excessive clutter, an
(03:14):
unkept appearance, bruises, bedsores, or a sudden weight loss.
Furthermore, if you suspectabuse of an older adult or
someone with a disability, thenyou can call the 24-hour abuse
hotline at 866-800-1409, or youcould also call any one of our
(03:37):
five senior service locations,Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.
to 4.
Also, I want to remind, if youdo make a report, you can be
anonymous.
There's only two ways that wecould ever disclose who the
reporter is, and that's throughthe written consent of the
reporter or court order.
(04:00):
Also, what happens after areport is made, an APS
caseworker will attemptface-to-face contact with the
victim to address theallegations.
I do want to stress that eventhough APS will do everything we
can to assist the victim, Wehave to remember that they are
adults and they do have theright to self-determination.
(04:21):
So if a victim can't either denythe allegations or refuse
services, we must respect theirrights.
We are very client driven, so wecan't do anything if the alleged
victim does not give us consent.
However, if the victim is opento assistance, APS will work
with them to develop a case planand interventions by offering
(04:43):
case management, in-homeservices, such as caregiver or
homemaker services, Meals onWheels, Life Alert Button, and
other valuable resources.
The main goal being to preventfurther abuse from occurring and
making sure to help and improvethe quality of life.
There are some steps you cantake to show your support as
(05:06):
well.
That includes learning the signsof abuse and reporting abuse,
being involved with older lovedones to help prevention
isolation, talking to friendsand family members about abuse
towards older adults to helpraise awareness, and signing up
to be a volunteer for olderpeople in our community.
What's more, there are severalopportunities to give back by
(05:29):
volunteering through SeniorServices Associates.
Our programs are free, such asour friendly visiting program,
our free transportation program,And our retired senior volunteer
program is always looking forvolunteers in the Southern Cane
and Kendall areas.
So if you have any furtherquestions or you can reach me
(05:51):
directly, Crystal Cuellar withSenior Services Associates at
630-897-4035.
And my extension is 106.
Thank you,
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Crystal.
So next, we will hear fromRachel.
So if you can go ahead andintroduce yourself.
SPEAKER_03 (06:12):
Sure.
Thank you.
Hi.
My name is Rachel Granitz.
I'm an attorney at the FederalTrade Commission, which is the
country's consumer protectionagency.
Thank you for having me heretoday.
I'm based in the FTC's MidwestRegional Office, which is
located in Chicago.
And we bring law enforcementactions to stop scams and
(06:35):
deceptive practices.
And we also provide education toconsumers and businesses
throughout Illinois and theentire Midwest.
So I am going to talk about afew scams that people should be
aware of.
how to protect yourself fromscams, and then what to do if
(06:56):
you think you have been scammed.
Beginning with a few scams thatpeople should be aware of, I'm
going to talk about scams wheresomeone pretends to be from a
company or an agency that youtrust.
We call these imposter scams andthey're unfortunately pretty
common right now and they cantake a few different forms.
(07:21):
The first one that I'm going totalk about are scams from people
pretending to be from your bankor financial institution.
The way that these bank scamswork is you may receive a call
or a text out of the blue sayingthat they are your bank, your
broker, or your investmentadvisor, and they have spotted
(07:44):
fraudulent or criminal activityon one of your accounts.
Another type of imposter scamthat we're unfortunately seeing
a lot and people should be awareof are people pretending to be
from the government.
One example is a call supposedlyfrom the Social Security
Administration, and the callerwill say, Something like he is a
(08:10):
Social Security Administrationagent and has an urgent warning
that your name and SocialSecurity number are linked to
serious crimes like moneylaundering or drug trafficking
and that there is a warrant outfor your arrest.
The next step is usually for thescammer to ask you for your
(08:31):
money, which they do in a fewsneaky ways.
They tell you that you shouldtransfer your money to protect
it.
They may even say that they'llkeep it safe for you if you
withdraw it as cash and drop itoff somewhere or even buy gold
and give it to a courier.
And these calls are reallyscary.
(08:52):
And They are scams.
The government will not call youout of the blue.
And these calls are also takingthe form of calls from people
from my workplace, the FederalTrade Commission.
Scammers will use the names ofgovernment agencies to try to
(09:15):
gain your trust.
They may even use the name of aFederal Trade Commission
employee But what they aretelling you will be a bunch of
lies.
No one from the FTC willthreaten you with an arrest,
call you to demand money, orpromise you a prize that you
(09:36):
have to pay to collect.
Those are all things that we'veheard about with people posing
to be from the FTC as well asother government agencies.
And at least for the FTC, ourcontact with consumers is
generally by email or regularmail, and it's typically not out
(09:57):
of the blue.
We may send a consumer an emailafter they've reported fraud to
us, but we are not making callsand encouraging people to act
quickly or anything like that.
As far as how people can protectthemselves, there's a few things
that we recommend.
(10:18):
One is to block unwanted callsand text messages.
And we have on our website,which is consumer.ftc.gov, we
have a lot of articles about howto do things like block unwanted
calls and texts, includinginstructions on how to download
(10:42):
a call blocking app.
We don't have a particular onethat we recommend, but because
it depends on your carrier andother details like that, but we
do kind of go through how to usethem and what to look for.
You can also, if you receive anunwanted text message, you can
(11:03):
copy it and forward it to 7726,which spells out spam.
That's 7726.
And that helps your wirelessprovider spot and block those
messages in the future.
Another thing that we recommendis just don't give out your
personal or financialinformation in response to a
(11:25):
request that you didn't expect.
Honest organizations won't call,email, or text to ask for your
personal information, like yoursocial security number, your
bank account, or your creditcard numbers.
Also, as I mentioned before,they won't ask you for the
verification codes that youmight get from a financial
(11:49):
institution in a text or anemail.
If you do get an email or a textmessage from a company you do
business with and you think thatit's real, it's still best to
not click on any links.
Instead, contact them using awebsite you know is trustworthy,
or you can look up their phonenumber.
(12:10):
Don't call the number they gaveyou or the number from your
caller ID.
One Additional piece of advicethat I think is really important
is to resist the pressure to actimmediately.
An honest business will give youthe time to make a decision.
Anyone who pressures you to payor give them personal
(12:34):
information is a scammer.
Another thing that might tip youoff to the fact that you're
interacting with a scammer is ifThey're giving you certain
payment instructions.
So never pay someone who insiststhat you can only pay with
cryptocurrency, a wire transferservice, a payment app, or a
(12:56):
gift card.
And don't deposit a check andsend money back to someone.
Those are all payment methodsthat are harder to recover
stolen funds from, which is whyscammers use them.
Another thing that we recommendis to stop and talk to someone
you trust before you do anythingelse.
(13:20):
Tell someone, a friend or afamily member or a neighbor,
what happened.
Talking about it could help yourealize it's a scam and you can
also help other people avoidpotential scams in the future.
Now I'm going to talk about afew things to do if you think
(13:41):
you've been scammed.
The first one is to act quicklyto try to get your money back.
If you have paid a scammer, yourmoney might be gone already, but
no matter how you paid, it'salways worth asking the company
you use to send the money ifthere's a way to get it back.
(14:02):
We also have resources on ourwebsite consumer.ftc.gov about
what to do if you were scammedand specific instructions based
on how you paid the scammer.
Another thing that I would saythat I always recommend is don't
(14:23):
wait to reach out for help.
I listened to your last podcastepisode with the woman who
experienced a scam which Ithought was a very important
perspective to hear.
And she shared that she feltembarrassed, which is very
common, but do not let shame getin the way of reporting what
(14:44):
happened.
It's not your fault.
And scammers engage in a lot ofpractices to try to gain your
trust.
And if you do act quickly, youhave a better chance of getting
your money back or to helpsomeone else avoid the same
thing.
Two more pieces of advice onwhat to do if you've been
(15:08):
scammed.
If you've given out personalinformation like your social
security number, your creditcard, bank, or financial
information, you should go toidentitytheft.gov.
That's a website that theFederal Trade Commission
operates and you can fill out aform, explaining what happened
(15:32):
and what information you shared,and it will actually give you a
customized plan on how torecover and protect your
identity.
Another thing you can do is tocheck your accounts for
unauthorized charges or changes.
The last thing that I wouldrecommend is to Report a scam to
(15:56):
us at the FTC.
When you report a scam, we canuse that information to build
cases against the scammers, spottrends, educate the public, and
share data about what ishappening in your community.
You don't have to experience thescam yourself, but if you have
(16:19):
even just spotted one, you canalso report that at the same
place.
It's at our website, which isreportfraud.ftc.gov.
Last, just to leave you with twoadditional resources, you can
learn more about consumer topicsat the website I mentioned
(16:42):
before, which isconsumer.ftc.gov, or you can
report fraud, scams, and badbusiness practices at
reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Thanks very much.
SPEAKER_01 (16:56):
Thank you so much, Rachel, for joining us today.
We really appreciate you takingthe time to be here with us and
sharing about how we can protectourselves from scams.
And now as we transition intoour next segment, I want to talk
about something that's becomeincreasingly concerning,
Medicare fraud.
(17:17):
The Senior Medicare PatrolProgram, or SMP for short, is a
statewide initiative that seeksto educate and empower older
adults on how to protectthemselves, detect, and report
Medicare fraud and abuse.
We do that by organizingcommunity outreach programs such
(17:38):
as group presentations and alsoattending senior fairs, health
fairs throughout the community.
Medicare fraud is a huge issue.
every year more than 60 billiondollars is lost to medicare
fraud and abuse and those areall of our tax dollars being
taken by these scammers theycould also be using up your
(18:00):
benefits then making themunavailable when you need them
the most you can protectyourself by guarding your
medicare number in the same waythat you would your social
security number or a credit cardnumber because Once scammers
have access to your Medicarenumber, they can then charge
(18:21):
Medicare for services that younever receive.
You can also review yourMedicare summary notices for
anything suspicious or that youdon't recognize.
These Medicare Summary Noticesare something that you normally
receive every three months or sothat give you details about all
of the doctor's appointments,all of the tests or procedures
(18:45):
that you may have received inthe past three months.
Also, thoroughly review yourbilling notices that you receive
from your doctor or a hospitalto make sure that they are
billing you for thingscorrectly.
Unfortunately, it happens prettyoften that you might be billed
for something incorrectly,whether it's using a wrong code
(19:08):
or for something that you didn'tactually get.
And the only way you would catchthat is by reviewing these
billing statements.
You are better off keeping yourMedicare card at home instead of
in your wallet or purse.
I know you're often asked foryour Medicare card whenever you
go to a doctor or medicaloffice, even though you've been
(19:30):
there before.
But if that still happens, youcan always tell them that you'll
call them back or give them theMedicare number at another time.
So that way you don't have toalways carry your card with you.
And when you do notice somethingsuspicious, when you review your
Medicare summary notice or yourbilling statements, one good tip
(19:54):
is that not everything isconsidered fraud.
A lot of times things are justerrors where you can call into
the billing department of thatparticular provider.
And for the most part, whatusually happens is that they
notice that error and then theyfix it on their end.
(20:14):
But if you do run into thatissue where that provider is not
responsive or they refuse tocorrect what could be an error
or could be fraud, then in thatcase, yes, that's where you
would definitely want to take ita step further and report that
as potential Medicare fraud.
(20:36):
To give you an idea of some ofthe common scams that are out
there right now.
One of the most recent revolvesaround catheter supplies, where
people are being billedsometimes thousands of dollars
for catheter supplies, whetherthey do need them or not.
(20:56):
So that's another very goodreason why you should review
your Medicare summary notices tosee if you are being charged
more for these supplies.
It could be that Medicare isbeing charged a lot more than
they're supposed to for thesecatheter supplies.
Another scam is people are beingoffered a new Medicare card.
(21:18):
There is no new Medicare card.
We'll start there.
But the scammers are offering anew card that either has a chip
or is a gold card.
But it's really just a way forthe scammers to get a hold of
your Medicare number.
If a new Medicare card ever hasto be issued, that'll always be
(21:39):
done by social security.
Maybe one of the most commonscams is about durable medical
equipment fraud.
That type of equipment arethings like wheelchairs,
walkers, different types ofbraces like knee braces, back
braces, where you may get a callor see something on TV or on the
(22:01):
internet that is offering thesedevices for free but in the
example of something like a backbrace or an e-brace if that
isn't properly fitted to you itcould be that even if you do
receive these pieces ofequipment that they're not
actually fitted correctly to youand in some cases they may
(22:23):
actually hurt you so it's alwaysrecommended even if you see
something on TV or someone callsyou.
If you do need any type ofequipment, it's usually best to
go directly through your doctorbecause they can order these
properly through Medicare.
They can actually fit youcorrectly for these devices just
(22:45):
so that you're not at risk ofbeing injured by a device that
doesn't actually fit youcorrectly.
And one more example of a scamto be aware of is home health
fraud.
Home health is health servicesthat are offered in the home,
(23:06):
such as a nurse coming to seeyou in the home or a physical or
occupational therapist.
There are certain criteria thatyou have to meet in order to
qualify for home health thatMedicare covers.
One is that you have to beconsidered homebound.
(23:27):
So that means that you are notable to safely leave your home
without assistance.
You'll do also require a plan ofcare.
That is a list of services thata doctor orders that you
require.
In this case, it's usually sometype of skilled care from a
medical professional.
(23:47):
So because of thoserequirements, if you ever get a
call offering you for free anurse to come see you or free
physical therapy in the home,that's most likely a scam
because you do require thesecertain steps or these criteria
to meet in order for you toqualify for Medicare to pay for
(24:09):
these services.
You can report Medicare scams bycalling Illinois SMP at
1-800-699-9043.
SPEAKER_00 (24:21):
Thank you for listening to The Age Guide
Perspectives on the AgingJourney.
We hope you learn something newon this podcast because we all
have a stake in promoting a highquality of life for people on
their aging journey.
Age Guide coordinates andadministers many services for
older adults in NortheasternIllinois.
We serve DuPage, Grundy, Kane,Kankakee, Kendall, Lake,
(24:44):
McHenry, and Will Counties.
Our specially trainedprofessionals are available to
answer questions and connect youwith local service providers and
resources.
If you are interested in theseservices or want to learn more,
go to our website at hguide.org.
Call our offices at630-293-5990.
(25:07):
Please follow our podcast sowhen we post our monthly
podcast, you are notified onyour streaming account.
Thank you, and we will see younext time.
On the Age Guide, perspectiveson the aging journey.
Hello, and welcome to the Age Guide, Perspectives
on the Aging Journey.
We are here to be your personalguide and enhance your quality
of life on the road ahead.
At Age Guide, it's our missionto be a vital resource and
advocate for people as we age byproviding thoughtful guidance,
(00:24):
supportive services, andmeaningful connections.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
In this episode, we're going to continue our
discussion on scams and bringmore awareness to programs and
advocates that work to protectolder adults from scammers.
Age Guide has been organizingscam awareness events throughout
the communities we serve inpartnership with state and
federal programs, including theAdult Protective Services
(00:52):
Program, the Federal TradeCommission, and the Illinois
Senior Medicare Patrol Program.
Together, we've been workingtowards building a more informed
community.
Now, we're bringing our scamawareness event to you.
Listen in to learn more abouthow resources and connections in
the community can help protectyou against fraud and scams.
(01:16):
Thank you for being here.
So let's jump right in.
Crystal, can you introduceyourself and tell us about the
program that you work with?
SPEAKER_02 (01:25):
Sure, my name is Crystal Quare and I'm an Adult
Protective Service caseworkerwith Senior Services Associates
in Aurora.
My jurisdiction is Kane, Kendalland McHenry Counties.
And what Adult ProtectiveServices or APS is, it's
governed by the Illinois AdultProtective Service Act and it's
(01:47):
managed by the IllinoisDepartment on Aging and the
Regional Area Agency on Aging.
So the purpose of the program isto provide intervention to
adults over 60 years old and toindividuals 18 to 59 with a
disability who may be a victimof abuse, neglect, exploitation,
or self-neglect.
(02:09):
This would be at the hands of acaregiver, a family member, or a
friend with a continuingrelationship.
Now, abuse is defined asknowing, intending, or a
careless act that causes harm.
And this could include physical,sexual, or emotional abuse, as
well as financial exploitation,neglect, and self-neglect.
(02:32):
I want to talk about some of thecommon risk factors of abuse,
which are dementia, mentalhealth, and substance abuse
issues of the victim or theabuser, social isolation, and
poor physical health.
In addition, various types ofabuse There are also some common
signs to be on the lookout for,such as behavior changes,
(02:54):
anxiety, depression, fear,increased isolation, sudden
changes in bank accounts, trustor wills, and unpaid bills.
There may be obvious physicalsigns, such as poor living
conditions, like an hoardersituation, excessive clutter, an
(03:14):
unkept appearance, bruises, bedsores, or a sudden weight loss.
Furthermore, if you suspectabuse of an older adult or
someone with a disability, thenyou can call the 24-hour abuse
hotline at 866-800-1409, or youcould also call any one of our
(03:37):
five senior service locations,Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.
to 4.
Also, I want to remind, if youdo make a report, you can be
anonymous.
There's only two ways that wecould ever disclose who the
reporter is, and that's throughthe written consent of the
reporter or court order.
(04:00):
Also, what happens after areport is made, an APS
caseworker will attemptface-to-face contact with the
victim to address theallegations.
I do want to stress that eventhough APS will do everything we
can to assist the victim, Wehave to remember that they are
adults and they do have theright to self-determination.
(04:21):
So if a victim can't either denythe allegations or refuse
services, we must respect theirrights.
We are very client driven, so wecan't do anything if the alleged
victim does not give us consent.
However, if the victim is opento assistance, APS will work
with them to develop a case planand interventions by offering
(04:43):
case management, in-homeservices, such as caregiver or
homemaker services, Meals onWheels, Life Alert Button, and
other valuable resources.
The main goal being to preventfurther abuse from occurring and
making sure to help and improvethe quality of life.
There are some steps you cantake to show your support as
(05:06):
well.
That includes learning the signsof abuse and reporting abuse,
being involved with older lovedones to help prevention
isolation, talking to friendsand family members about abuse
towards older adults to helpraise awareness, and signing up
to be a volunteer for olderpeople in our community.
What's more, there are severalopportunities to give back by
(05:29):
volunteering through SeniorServices Associates.
Our programs are free, such asour friendly visiting program,
our free transportation program,And our retired senior volunteer
program is always looking forvolunteers in the Southern Cane
and Kendall areas.
So if you have any furtherquestions or you can reach me
(05:51):
directly, Crystal Cuellar withSenior Services Associates at
630-897-4035.
And my extension is 106.
Thank you,
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Crystal.
So next, we will hear fromRachel.
So if you can go ahead andintroduce yourself.
SPEAKER_03 (06:12):
Sure.
Thank you.
Hi.
My name is Rachel Granitz.
I'm an attorney at the FederalTrade Commission, which is the
country's consumer protectionagency.
Thank you for having me heretoday.
I'm based in the FTC's MidwestRegional Office, which is
located in Chicago.
And we bring law enforcementactions to stop scams and
(06:35):
deceptive practices.
And we also provide education toconsumers and businesses
throughout Illinois and theentire Midwest.
So I am going to talk about afew scams that people should be
aware of.
how to protect yourself fromscams, and then what to do if
(06:56):
you think you have been scammed.
Beginning with a few scams thatpeople should be aware of, I'm
going to talk about scams wheresomeone pretends to be from a
company or an agency that youtrust.
We call these imposter scams andthey're unfortunately pretty
common right now and they cantake a few different forms.
(07:21):
The first one that I'm going totalk about are scams from people
pretending to be from your bankor financial institution.
The way that these bank scamswork is you may receive a call
or a text out of the blue sayingthat they are your bank, your
broker, or your investmentadvisor, and they have spotted
(07:44):
fraudulent or criminal activityon one of your accounts.
Another type of imposter scamthat we're unfortunately seeing
a lot and people should be awareof are people pretending to be
from the government.
One example is a call supposedlyfrom the Social Security
Administration, and the callerwill say, Something like he is a
(08:10):
Social Security Administrationagent and has an urgent warning
that your name and SocialSecurity number are linked to
serious crimes like moneylaundering or drug trafficking
and that there is a warrant outfor your arrest.
The next step is usually for thescammer to ask you for your
(08:31):
money, which they do in a fewsneaky ways.
They tell you that you shouldtransfer your money to protect
it.
They may even say that they'llkeep it safe for you if you
withdraw it as cash and drop itoff somewhere or even buy gold
and give it to a courier.
And these calls are reallyscary.
(08:52):
And They are scams.
The government will not call youout of the blue.
And these calls are also takingthe form of calls from people
from my workplace, the FederalTrade Commission.
Scammers will use the names ofgovernment agencies to try to
(09:15):
gain your trust.
They may even use the name of aFederal Trade Commission
employee But what they aretelling you will be a bunch of
lies.
No one from the FTC willthreaten you with an arrest,
call you to demand money, orpromise you a prize that you
(09:36):
have to pay to collect.
Those are all things that we'veheard about with people posing
to be from the FTC as well asother government agencies.
And at least for the FTC, ourcontact with consumers is
generally by email or regularmail, and it's typically not out
(09:57):
of the blue.
We may send a consumer an emailafter they've reported fraud to
us, but we are not making callsand encouraging people to act
quickly or anything like that.
As far as how people can protectthemselves, there's a few things
that we recommend.
(10:18):
One is to block unwanted callsand text messages.
And we have on our website,which is consumer.ftc.gov, we
have a lot of articles about howto do things like block unwanted
calls and texts, includinginstructions on how to download
(10:42):
a call blocking app.
We don't have a particular onethat we recommend, but because
it depends on your carrier andother details like that, but we
do kind of go through how to usethem and what to look for.
You can also, if you receive anunwanted text message, you can
(11:03):
copy it and forward it to 7726,which spells out spam.
That's 7726.
And that helps your wirelessprovider spot and block those
messages in the future.
Another thing that we recommendis just don't give out your
personal or financialinformation in response to a
(11:25):
request that you didn't expect.
Honest organizations won't call,email, or text to ask for your
personal information, like yoursocial security number, your
bank account, or your creditcard numbers.
Also, as I mentioned before,they won't ask you for the
verification codes that youmight get from a financial
(11:49):
institution in a text or anemail.
If you do get an email or a textmessage from a company you do
business with and you think thatit's real, it's still best to
not click on any links.
Instead, contact them using awebsite you know is trustworthy,
or you can look up their phonenumber.
(12:10):
Don't call the number they gaveyou or the number from your
caller ID.
One Additional piece of advicethat I think is really important
is to resist the pressure to actimmediately.
An honest business will give youthe time to make a decision.
Anyone who pressures you to payor give them personal
(12:34):
information is a scammer.
Another thing that might tip youoff to the fact that you're
interacting with a scammer is ifThey're giving you certain
payment instructions.
So never pay someone who insiststhat you can only pay with
cryptocurrency, a wire transferservice, a payment app, or a
(12:56):
gift card.
And don't deposit a check andsend money back to someone.
Those are all payment methodsthat are harder to recover
stolen funds from, which is whyscammers use them.
Another thing that we recommendis to stop and talk to someone
you trust before you do anythingelse.
(13:20):
Tell someone, a friend or afamily member or a neighbor,
what happened.
Talking about it could help yourealize it's a scam and you can
also help other people avoidpotential scams in the future.
Now I'm going to talk about afew things to do if you think
(13:41):
you've been scammed.
The first one is to act quicklyto try to get your money back.
If you have paid a scammer, yourmoney might be gone already, but
no matter how you paid, it'salways worth asking the company
you use to send the money ifthere's a way to get it back.
(14:02):
We also have resources on ourwebsite consumer.ftc.gov about
what to do if you were scammedand specific instructions based
on how you paid the scammer.
Another thing that I would saythat I always recommend is don't
(14:23):
wait to reach out for help.
I listened to your last podcastepisode with the woman who
experienced a scam which Ithought was a very important
perspective to hear.
And she shared that she feltembarrassed, which is very
common, but do not let shame getin the way of reporting what
(14:44):
happened.
It's not your fault.
And scammers engage in a lot ofpractices to try to gain your
trust.
And if you do act quickly, youhave a better chance of getting
your money back or to helpsomeone else avoid the same
thing.
Two more pieces of advice onwhat to do if you've been
(15:08):
scammed.
If you've given out personalinformation like your social
security number, your creditcard, bank, or financial
information, you should go toidentitytheft.gov.
That's a website that theFederal Trade Commission
operates and you can fill out aform, explaining what happened
(15:32):
and what information you shared,and it will actually give you a
customized plan on how torecover and protect your
identity.
Another thing you can do is tocheck your accounts for
unauthorized charges or changes.
The last thing that I wouldrecommend is to Report a scam to
(15:56):
us at the FTC.
When you report a scam, we canuse that information to build
cases against the scammers, spottrends, educate the public, and
share data about what ishappening in your community.
You don't have to experience thescam yourself, but if you have
(16:19):
even just spotted one, you canalso report that at the same
place.
It's at our website, which isreportfraud.ftc.gov.
Last, just to leave you with twoadditional resources, you can
learn more about consumer topicsat the website I mentioned
(16:42):
before, which isconsumer.ftc.gov, or you can
report fraud, scams, and badbusiness practices at
reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Thanks very much.
SPEAKER_01 (16:56):
Thank you so much, Rachel, for joining us today.
We really appreciate you takingthe time to be here with us and
sharing about how we can protectourselves from scams.
And now as we transition intoour next segment, I want to talk
about something that's becomeincreasingly concerning,
Medicare fraud.
(17:17):
The Senior Medicare PatrolProgram, or SMP for short, is a
statewide initiative that seeksto educate and empower older
adults on how to protectthemselves, detect, and report
Medicare fraud and abuse.
We do that by organizingcommunity outreach programs such
(17:38):
as group presentations and alsoattending senior fairs, health
fairs throughout the community.
Medicare fraud is a huge issue.
every year more than 60 billiondollars is lost to medicare
fraud and abuse and those areall of our tax dollars being
taken by these scammers theycould also be using up your
(18:00):
benefits then making themunavailable when you need them
the most you can protectyourself by guarding your
medicare number in the same waythat you would your social
security number or a credit cardnumber because Once scammers
have access to your Medicarenumber, they can then charge
(18:21):
Medicare for services that younever receive.
You can also review yourMedicare summary notices for
anything suspicious or that youdon't recognize.
These Medicare Summary Noticesare something that you normally
receive every three months or sothat give you details about all
of the doctor's appointments,all of the tests or procedures
(18:45):
that you may have received inthe past three months.
Also, thoroughly review yourbilling notices that you receive
from your doctor or a hospitalto make sure that they are
billing you for thingscorrectly.
Unfortunately, it happens prettyoften that you might be billed
for something incorrectly,whether it's using a wrong code
(19:08):
or for something that you didn'tactually get.
And the only way you would catchthat is by reviewing these
billing statements.
You are better off keeping yourMedicare card at home instead of
in your wallet or purse.
I know you're often asked foryour Medicare card whenever you
go to a doctor or medicaloffice, even though you've been
(19:30):
there before.
But if that still happens, youcan always tell them that you'll
call them back or give them theMedicare number at another time.
So that way you don't have toalways carry your card with you.
And when you do notice somethingsuspicious, when you review your
Medicare summary notice or yourbilling statements, one good tip
(19:54):
is that not everything isconsidered fraud.
A lot of times things are justerrors where you can call into
the billing department of thatparticular provider.
And for the most part, whatusually happens is that they
notice that error and then theyfix it on their end.
(20:14):
But if you do run into thatissue where that provider is not
responsive or they refuse tocorrect what could be an error
or could be fraud, then in thatcase, yes, that's where you
would definitely want to take ita step further and report that
as potential Medicare fraud.
(20:36):
To give you an idea of some ofthe common scams that are out
there right now.
One of the most recent revolvesaround catheter supplies, where
people are being billedsometimes thousands of dollars
for catheter supplies, whetherthey do need them or not.
(20:56):
So that's another very goodreason why you should review
your Medicare summary notices tosee if you are being charged
more for these supplies.
It could be that Medicare isbeing charged a lot more than
they're supposed to for thesecatheter supplies.
Another scam is people are beingoffered a new Medicare card.
(21:18):
There is no new Medicare card.
We'll start there.
But the scammers are offering anew card that either has a chip
or is a gold card.
But it's really just a way forthe scammers to get a hold of
your Medicare number.
If a new Medicare card ever hasto be issued, that'll always be
(21:39):
done by social security.
Maybe one of the most commonscams is about durable medical
equipment fraud.
That type of equipment arethings like wheelchairs,
walkers, different types ofbraces like knee braces, back
braces, where you may get a callor see something on TV or on the
(22:01):
internet that is offering thesedevices for free but in the
example of something like a backbrace or an e-brace if that
isn't properly fitted to you itcould be that even if you do
receive these pieces ofequipment that they're not
actually fitted correctly to youand in some cases they may
(22:23):
actually hurt you so it's alwaysrecommended even if you see
something on TV or someone callsyou.
If you do need any type ofequipment, it's usually best to
go directly through your doctorbecause they can order these
properly through Medicare.
They can actually fit youcorrectly for these devices just
(22:45):
so that you're not at risk ofbeing injured by a device that
doesn't actually fit youcorrectly.
And one more example of a scamto be aware of is home health
fraud.
Home health is health servicesthat are offered in the home,
(23:06):
such as a nurse coming to seeyou in the home or a physical or
occupational therapist.
There are certain criteria thatyou have to meet in order to
qualify for home health thatMedicare covers.
One is that you have to beconsidered homebound.
(23:27):
So that means that you are notable to safely leave your home
without assistance.
You'll do also require a plan ofcare.
That is a list of services thata doctor orders that you
require.
In this case, it's usually sometype of skilled care from a
medical professional.
(23:47):
So because of thoserequirements, if you ever get a
call offering you for free anurse to come see you or free
physical therapy in the home,that's most likely a scam
because you do require thesecertain steps or these criteria
to meet in order for you toqualify for Medicare to pay for
(24:09):
these services.
You can report Medicare scams bycalling Illinois SMP at
1-800-699-9043.
SPEAKER_00 (24:21):
Thank you for listening to The Age Guide
Perspectives on the AgingJourney.
We hope you learn something newon this podcast because we all
have a stake in promoting a highquality of life for people on
their aging journey.
Age Guide coordinates andadministers many services for
older adults in NortheasternIllinois.
We serve DuPage, Grundy, Kane,Kankakee, Kendall, Lake,
(24:44):
McHenry, and Will Counties.
Our specially trainedprofessionals are available to
answer questions and connect youwith local service providers and
resources.
If you are interested in theseservices or want to learn more,
go to our website at hguide.org.
Call our offices at630-293-5990.
(25:07):
Please follow our podcast sowhen we post our monthly
podcast, you are notified onyour streaming account.
Thank you, and we will see younext time.
On the Age Guide, perspectiveson the aging journey.
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