Medicare fraud costs the US government over $60 billion per year — and text message scams are one of the fastest-growing methods. Scammers target Medicare beneficiaries because their information is extraordinarily valuable: a Medicare number combined with a date of birth can be used to bill for thousands of dollars of fake medical services.
What Medicare scam texts look like
- "Your Medicare benefits will expire unless updated. Call now to keep your coverage: 1-800-XXX-XXXX"
- "Medicare: You qualify for a FREE back brace, knee brace, or diabetes supplies at no cost. Reply YES to claim."
- "Your new Medicare card is ready. Verify your details to receive it: [link]"
- "IMPORTANT: Medicare is offering a $500 dental benefit. Claim before the deadline."
The free equipment offer is particularly common right now. Scammers advertise free back braces, knee braces, CPAP supplies, or diabetic shoes. When a senior claims the "benefit," the scammer collects their Medicare number and uses it to bill Medicare for equipment that was never delivered — or was delivered but grossly overpriced.
What information scammers are really after
The primary targets:
- Medicare number — used to submit fraudulent billing claims
- Date of birth — required to verify Medicare identity
- Social Security number — used for identity theft and to open new accounts
- Bank account or routing number — for direct theft
Medicare numbers are especially sensitive because they can't easily be changed. Once compromised, a Medicare number requires going through a formal dispute process with CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) — a process that can take months.
How Medicare actually communicates
Medicare communicates by mail — not by text. Medicare will never:
- Text you about your benefits or coverage
- Call you to offer free equipment (they don't proactively call beneficiaries)
- Ask you to confirm your Medicare number to keep your benefits active
- Ask for payment to issue a new Medicare card
If you receive a new Medicare card, it arrives by mail automatically. No action is required from the beneficiary.
The "free equipment" trap in detail
This deserves special attention because it's so widely used. Here's how it works:
- Your parent receives a text or call offering free medical equipment at "no cost to them."
- A salesperson explains that Medicare covers it fully — your parent just needs to confirm their information.
- Your parent provides their Medicare number, date of birth, and possibly their address.
- The scammer submits fraudulent Medicare claims using that information.
- Your parent may receive equipment they didn't need (bought cheaply in bulk), or nothing at all.
- Medicare pays out thousands of dollars for the fraudulent claims.
Your parent may not even realise they've been defrauded — they might have received something free and consider it a good deal. The damage shows up in their Medicare Summary Notice months later as charges for equipment or services they never received.
What to tell your parent
- Medicare will never text you. Any text claiming to be Medicare is a scam.
- Your Medicare number is as sensitive as your Social Security number. Treat it accordingly.
- There are no "free equipment" programs that require you to call or reply to a text. Legitimate Medicare Advantage plans communicate through your insurer, not through random texts.
- If you think a benefit might be real, call Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
If your parent already gave out their Medicare number
- Call 1-800-MEDICARE and report the potential fraud.
- Review recent Medicare Summary Notices for charges you don't recognise.
- Report to the HHS Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
- Consider filing a report with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Watchover helps your parent catch these texts before they respond. A Medicare scam text forwarded to Watchover will be flagged immediately with a clear explanation of why it's suspicious and exactly what not to do.