Kerr: AID offers Medicare assistance to Arkansas seniors

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr today released the following statement alerting Arkansans receiving Medicare to beware of a new phone scam targeting them:

“No one should ever give their bank information to someone claiming to be from the government—and that applies to Arkansas seniors receiving Medicare.  If someone calls you out of the blue and asks you for your bank account number, the simplest thing to do is hang up, because it is a scam.”

A scam currently being run involves callers claiming to work with Medicare, asking to verify a victim’s bank account number under the pretense that the government “lost your information” and need it to make deposits or send a new Medicare or prescription card while threatening a cutoff of benefits if the information isn’t provided.

Kerr reminds Arkansas seniors that Medicare will never call to ask for bank account information.  Additionally, Kerr offers the following tips should a Medicare scammer call:

• Don’t give out your bank account number — or any part of your Social Security number.
• Simply hang up the phone.
• Report your experience at 1-877-FTC-HELP or ftc.gov/complaint. Click on “Scams and Rip-offs,” and then “Imposter Scams.”
• If you have questions about your Medicare benefits, call 1-800-MEDICARE or the Arkansas Insurance Department’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) at 1-800-224-6330.

“Our SHIIP program is available everyday for Arkansans who have questions about Medicare, including information on signing up, finding a doctor, and programs to assist seniors to pay for coverage,” Kerr said.