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BCPD issues alert for possible door-to-door Medicare scam

Posted at 7:55 PM, Nov 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-25 19:55:39-05

BATTLE CREEK, Mich.  —  Battle Creek Police are advising residents not to share their personal information with “random uninvited” strangers” who come to their door.

That, after police fielded a report of someone going door-to-door in the Post Addition neighborhood offering a “better Medicare plan’ than the one the resident just signed up for.” In one instance, the man who came to the door asked to see the resident’s old Medicare card, which shows the client’s Social Security Number, according to investigators.  However, the resident became suspicious and asked the man to leave.

To protect yourself from falling victim to a Medicare scam, police say to remember that it is illegal for Part ‘D’ or Medicare Advantage Plan insurance providers to sell door-to-door. “They have to have a prior specific invitation from you to come to your home.”

Medigap sellers are permitted to sell door-to-door, though.

Says the BCPD, “Legitimate sellers will know the marketing regulations, and will be willing to show their business card AND their legal ID/Drivers License to prove they are who they say they are. If they won’t let you see their ID, don’t show them yours!”

Police say you should save any business cards the “predators” give you, take a cell-phone photo of them or their vehicles, “if you can do so safely.”

Also, report the scam to the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP) or 1-800-Medicare, or call the local police.