I take care of my mom 93 with mild dementia. She is doing pretty well. There are moments I get stressed as I have no help. I was stupid and took a call from someone who said they were from Medicare. Said my mom would be entitled to copper braces for ankles and knees. She has a bad knee. I gave her Medicare number and date of birth. They said a doctor would call "in few days" to speak with me. As soon as I gave # and DOB, I regretted it. They will put thru a claim for braces and bill my mom the rest. I called Medicare but they were very matter of fact. I am scared I'll get a bill that we can't pay. Anyone have this happen? Any advice? I feel like such a fool....
I had him call a number on his papers that you report scams.
He reported it and they said they would take care of it.
They must of cause we never heard from them again.
Nor did we get what they said we qualified for. He also called his doctor and told them about it.
They didn't act concerned.
It has been awhile ago and we must of stopped what ever they wanted to do.
Hope all works out for you also.
AARP's advice; skip down to the "How to Report Medicare Fraud section:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/medical-equipment.html
Reporting fraud:
Office of Inspector General directly at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800‑447‑8477, or TTY 800‑377‑4950).
or https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/index.asp
https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Components/CPI/CPIReportingFraud
https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-resources/help-fight-medicare-fraud/how-report-medicare-fraud
AARP's Fraud Reporting Hotline:
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/call-fwn-helpline.html?intcmp=AE-SCM-FRD-CTA-HLPLN
Some of this information may be duplicative, but it may also give you additional resources.
Even if the Medicare individual with whom you spoke wasn't helpful, you should still report the fraud. Do you have caller ID? Still have the number the scammer used? Include that in the reports.
You might also check with your state's Attorney General or the State Police to see if they have any task forces that address these scams. Several years ago I needed to report a scam and contacted local and state police as well as a USPO Inspector General. I learned the State Police had created a fraud task force.
Please don't blame yourself; these scammers are coached on how to approach people and get personal information, and a caregiver and her/his elderly family are good targets, especially if the scammers catch them when they're off guard.
I would agree with Becky not to accept package, but do check to see what the return address is and jot it down before returning the package, then provide that information to the Medicare IG or other fraud entity to which you've reported the fraud.
The tracking number can help Federal agencies locate the scammers.
And do follow up with Medicare in writing, advising of the "transaction", the trickery, and action you've taken. I don't know what Medicare coverage you have (i.e., a supplementary policy such as Medigap), but you want to address that coverage to stop the scammer from collecting from an additional insurer.
Another consideration: check your local state laws to see if their are "rescission rights" to cancel orders or purchases w/i a certain number of days. You can search on "rescission rights", "contract cancellation" (these scam calls aren't contract based, but you might find some additional information or suggestions), "buyer's remorse" or similar topics.