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Senior Medicare Patrol: Beware of COVID Vaccine Scams

From the Senior Medicare Patrol: Check with your health care provider before paying for or receiving any COVID-19-related treatment.

  • You likely will not need to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine during this public health emergency.
  • You cannot pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine.
  • You cannot pay to get early access to the vaccine.
  • No one from Medicare or the Health Department will contact you.
  • No one from a vaccine distribution site or health care payer, like a private insurance company, will call you asking for your Social Security number or your credit card or bank account information to sign you up to get the vaccine.

To report COVID-19 VACCINE SCAMS or fraud: 855-613-7080

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California Senior Medicare Patrol Fraud Alert: COVID-19 Contact Tracing

From the California Senior Medicare Patrol:

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra this week warned residents to be on guard against scammers who send email, text messages or call people, pretending to be coronavirus contact tracers and trick people into providing personal information.

The scammers deceive people into believing they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Then they ask for private, healthcare information such as the Medicare number, Social Security number or bank account information.

“Legitimate contact tracers will never ask for personal information such as your Social Security number or financial information. It sickens the soul that there are people out there who make it their business to scam you as most of us seek to band together to respond to the coronavirus pandemic,” Becerra said in a statement.

If you get a call such as this, please report it to Senior Medicare Patrol on its toll-free hot line: 855-613-7080.

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Coronavirus: What Older Adults Need to Know

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has posted information for older adults about the novel coronavirus situation. Titled “Coronavirus: What Older Adults Need to Know,” the information explains that older adults are at higher risk, and provides information about how older adults can be supported as the situation evolves.

For more information, see the NCOA’s Coronavirus: What Older Adults Need to Know page, in English or en espanol.

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