Open Enrollment Is Scam Season
Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and fraud climbs right alongside it every year. Here's what the surge looks like, the two shapes it takes, and the simple checks that hold.
Some scams are a surprise. This one is on the calendar.
Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7 this year, the yearly window to change a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for coverage starting January 1. It is also, like clockwork, the busiest season for people pretending to be Medicare.
The surge is real, and it's seasonal
You can watch it happen in the numbers. Medicare-related scam calls rose about 25% from August to September this year as the window approached. Last year, call volume more than doubled heading into enrollment and then dropped back once it closed. The fraud isn't random. It follows the enrollment calendar because that is when millions of people are expecting to hear about their coverage, which is exactly the cover a scammer wants.
Two shapes to watch
The phone calls. This is most of the noise. A caller says your plan is being discontinued, or offers a "new," "plastic," or "gold" Medicare card, or promises free equipment or genetic testing, and just needs to "verify" your Medicare number. They spoof caller ID so it looks official. None of it is real. Real Medicare cards are free and mailed automatically, and Medicare won't call, text, or email you out of the blue to ask for your number or a payment.
The fake websites. This is the quieter danger. In September, the FTC warned about lookalike Medicare.gov and HealthCare.gov pages, built with official-looking logos and government-ish web addresses, some of them paying to sit at the very top of search results. You search for a plan, click the first result, and hand your details to a page that only looks like the government.
The checks that hold
- Start by typing the address. Go to Medicare.gov yourself, or use a bookmark. Don't click a search ad or a link in an email or text.
- Check the ending. A real government site ends in .gov. Look at the address, not the logo.
- Scroll past the ads. The results marked "Sponsored" or "Ad" are paid placements. The lookalikes pay to be first.
- Hang up and call back. If someone calls about your coverage, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE yourself. A real matter will still be there.
- Remember the card is free. Nobody legitimate charges you for a "new" or "gold" Medicare card.
Where SAFE Portal fits
What it won't do
SAFE Portal can't stop the phone from ringing. A caller asking you to read back your Medicare number is a conversation that happens outside the browser, and the defense there is the old one: hang up and call Medicare yourself.
The season is predictable. That's the good news. You can see it coming, and a few simple habits carry you through to December 7. SAFE Portal is at SAFEPortal.to, free to try.