Yikes! Crazy phone call

[hermetic]

First a guy with what seemed a British accent asked if I'd rec'd my new Medicare card in the mail. No, Then he says he has to confirm all my info, name, address and the Medicare # on the card. I told him I wasn't comfortable giving the number but he assured me it was in no way linked to any finances and he would not be asking for my SSN. We went ahead and he told me I was approved to receive back and knee braces which I needed to use because my bones were getting old. No charge to me. After much explaining I finally said fine so then he had to transfer me to verification dept. This guy also had a foreign accent. We went over a bunch of stuff like my size and weight and was I taking any meds or have any illness. Finally he said he would transfer me to shipping to confirm my order and this guy had a very India/Paki accent that I could just barely understand and we went over all the same stuff and I hung up on him cause I just couldn't put up with any more. They kept trying to call back and I finally answered and they apologized and said the call was being recorded and could I just verify everything, again.

This whole thing took half an hour and I'm not totally sure what I am getting so I wondered if anyone here knows what this is all about. Or knows where I might call to verify this was legit.

TIA

[Srkdqltr]

1. Yikes is right. For heaven sake NEVER talk to these people.

There is no new medicare card. The foreign accent should be your first clue.

[Haggard Celine]

4. Yeah, I learned my lesson about that.

Don't buy medical equipment unless your doctor authorizes it. Things like hearing aids are fine, but make sure the people are authorized to sell the equipment.

[Haggard Celine]

2. A company did the same thing to me for a back brace.

This was about 10 or 15 years ago. I finished the call, though, and they sent me a piece of shit back brace. If I had paid for it, I would've asked for a refund. Does the government investigate these scammers? I'd report them.

[hermetic]

10. Yes, they've been reported

Evidently there's a lot of this going on. They put a marker on my account to not pay for this equipment and I will be refusing delivery. Effing jerks. Karma will get them. Thanks for your reply.

[Ocelot II]

3. Totally a scam. Good thing you rang off when you did.

Medicare will never call you and there are no new Medicare cards. Some info here on Medicare scams: https://www.aura.com/learn/medicare-scam-calls#5.-You-qualify-for-free-medical-supplies

[hermetic]

5. Oh thank you

This is exactly what I needed to know.

[anciano]

9. Agreed.

Very informative link. Thanks for sharing.

[CurtEastPoint]

6. IRS, SS, Medicare will NEVER NEVER NEVER CALL YOU. It's all done by USPS.

[hermetic]

7. Thanks

See results below

[hermetic]

8. I called Medicare

Thanks again, Ocelot. Talked to a wonderfully nice lady. She said this scam is that they will send me these braces then bill Medicare for them. So I can just take the package back to the PO and say return to sender.
Evidently there's a whole lot of this going on right now. But gosh, she was just so sweet and I took their survey and gave them excellent reviews.
So, all better now.

[BlackSkimmer]

12. I'd keep an eye on all your accounts for awhile since you gave out so much info on the phone to an

obvious scammer.

Never ever give this info on the phone.

[Susan Calvin]

11. I guess it's the season for this stuff.

I've I've been been getting a lot of calls from people I could hardly understand. Especially when they said the name of where they were calling from. I tell them since I can't understand the name of their company, I assume they are either scammers or trying to sell me something and please take my name off their list.

[dflprincess]

13. It's a scam

I swear I get this call at least once a month. They're trying to get your Medicare #.

I enjoy stringing them along, I figure if they're talking to me they're not calling someone else who might fall for it. I had one of them get mad at me for "wasting his time".