Rowlett Lakeshore Times > News
Police warn public about Medicare scam
By Kenny Green, kgreen@starlocalnews.com
When one Rowlett citizen received a phone call asking her for information to update her Medicare information she thought better of it and alerted the Rowlett Police Department. The call has prompted the police department to alert its residents of a possible scam targeting Medicare recipients.
“We received a call from a resident saying that someone called her wanting to update Medicare information. She began asking questions and didn’t give up the information,” said Guy Helms, Rowlett police detective.
If you receive calls of this type do not give out any personal information and call the Medicare hotline at 1-800- 633-4227. Remember that scams are situations where you choose to participate.
“This isn’t anything new. This is the first time we have been aware of any calls being made to people in Rowlett,” Helms said. “If someone gets called they should ask the person calling for their information and then call the 1-800 number to verify it. Medicare is not going to call on the phone seeking personal information.”
Refuse to give out personal information until you can verify the identity of the person asking for the information. If you think that you are a victim of these types of crimes call the Rowlett Police Department criminal investigations division at 972-412-6220.
“Is someone gets your personal information they can turn it into identity theft and it’s a long process to clear your name through all the credit agencies,” Helms said. If someone has mistakenly given out their information they can notify us and we will look into it. If this is a bigger scheme then more than likely we will contact and involve federal agencies.”
Helms added that although here is no record that anyone in Rowlett has become victim to the scam, the department hopes to prevent anyone from becoming a victim.
“The best advice we can give people is to never give out info over the telephone. Ask for a callback number and name and then go from there,” Helms said.
“We received a call from a resident saying that someone called her wanting to update Medicare information. She began asking questions and didn’t give up the information,” said Guy Helms, Rowlett police detective.
If you receive calls of this type do not give out any personal information and call the Medicare hotline at 1-800- 633-4227. Remember that scams are situations where you choose to participate.
“This isn’t anything new. This is the first time we have been aware of any calls being made to people in Rowlett,” Helms said. “If someone gets called they should ask the person calling for their information and then call the 1-800 number to verify it. Medicare is not going to call on the phone seeking personal information.”
Refuse to give out personal information until you can verify the identity of the person asking for the information. If you think that you are a victim of these types of crimes call the Rowlett Police Department criminal investigations division at 972-412-6220.
“Is someone gets your personal information they can turn it into identity theft and it’s a long process to clear your name through all the credit agencies,” Helms said. If someone has mistakenly given out their information they can notify us and we will look into it. If this is a bigger scheme then more than likely we will contact and involve federal agencies.”
Helms added that although here is no record that anyone in Rowlett has become victim to the scam, the department hopes to prevent anyone from becoming a victim.
“The best advice we can give people is to never give out info over the telephone. Ask for a callback number and name and then go from there,” Helms said.
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