How to Stop Medicare Calls

Medicare calls can be legitimate, or they could be scams. If you are receiving these calls without requesting them, there is a good chance that someone has gotten ahold of your information and is using it to try and sell you things or trap you into a scam. Our article gives you an overview of Medicare calls and more information on how to stop Medicare calls, so you can have peace of mind.

What Are Medicare Calls?

Medicare calls can be one of two things – legitimate calls from the Medicare services agency in your area, or scams. It’s important to understand the difference between these two things, as accidentally treating a scam Medicare call like a real phone call can lead to serious consequences, such as a stolen identity or stolen money.

In general, Medicare will only call you if you have called them first or requested a phone call to help you deal with an issue. Medicare does not randomly call people, they do not ask you to pay fees and bills over the phone, and they do not threaten you once you are on the phone. If you are dealing with any of this, hang up the phone – you are likely dealing with a scammer.

Signs of Scam Medicare Calls

Determining if a Medicare call is a scam means keeping an eye out for the following red flags. These indicators are common with scam phone calls, and identifying them can stop you from falling victim to the scammers on the other end of the phone.

Signs of scam Medicare calls include:

• The call is unsolicited
• The call comes from a different phone number every time
• The person calling refuses to give you their name
• The person calling demands personal information, banking details, or your Social Security Number over the phone
• The person calling tries to threaten, coerce, or scare you into doing what they want
• The call is urgent and doesn’t leave you time to think or question the caller

How to Stop Medicare Calls for Good

Stopping Medicare calls, both legitimate and scams, can be a confusing process, especially if you don’t know how you ended up on a call list in the first place. Below, we give you steps on stopping these calls in both situations.

To stop legitimate Medicare calls, take the following steps:

• When you receive a call back from Medicare, ask them to place you on a do-not-call list
• Go online to the official Medicare website and update your contact preferences

If you are dealing with scams and phishing Medicare calls, take these steps:

• Block the caller and report the number to your cell service company as a scam or spam
• Utilize your phone’s call screening tools. For landlines, utilize caller ID to identify safe callers
• Never engage with a scammer, try to call them back, or try to scare them – the longer you are on the phone with a scammer, the more likely you are to accidentally give them information
• Report the fake Medicare calls to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Never hand out information over the phone, as Medicare will not ask you to do so

Remember, if you are being asked to pay lots of money over the phone, asked to purchase gift cards, or harassed by a caller, the chances are that they are a scammer, and you should not engage with them any further.

How Do I Stop Receiving Spam Calls?

Along with fake Medicare calls, you may receive a number of different nuisance phone calls and scams throughout the day. While it can be expected to receive a scam call or two in today’s world where scammers often robo-dial thousands of numbers at once, it doesn’t make this any less annoying.

If you would like to stop receiving spam calls, you can take steps to protect your information and screen calls by doing the following:

• Block all calls associated with Medicare scams or other scams
• Set up a call screening service on your phone
• Do not answer suspicious phone calls or texts
• Take steps to protect your information by not putting it anywhere online
• Hang up the moment you suspect a call is a scam or spam

Make sure you keep in mind that if any type of phone call seems too good to be true, and the phone call is unsolicited, you may be dealing with spam or a scam. Always err on the side of caution to stop yourself from accidentally falling victim to a scam.

Now You Know How to Stop Medicare Calls

Medicare calls can be a nuisance, and there is a chance that scammers have pulled your phone number information from public records or other places online in order to target you. You can take the time to do a quick check of public records with a FreePeopleSearch to see what information is available about you, and what you can do to request the removal of this information. The more steps you take to protect your privacy, the less likely it is that you will keep receiving bothersome fake Medicare calls.