(WXYZ) — With the coronavirus health crisis comes a new breed of scams. Now the Attorney General is warning about a ploy that some are using to steal Medicare and Medicaid information from us.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning all of us to be aware of scammers using health department phone numbers to try to steal your personal information.
Not only does that put you at risk for identity theft, it’s clogging up the phone lines at the health department with people calling the department to question the so-called deals they’re being offered.
Nessel says her office is getting reports that scammers are “spoofing” phone numbers from actual health departments.
“These scammers are calling people, saying they’re going to deliver medication, and to do that they need the recipient’s Medicaid and Medicare information,” said Attorney General Press Secretary Ryan Jarvi.
Jarvi told 7 Action News that the people receiving those calls are then calling the health department to ask about the fake offer of medication, and that’s causing more problems.
“The phone lines at the county health department are getting just overwhelmed and the people there aren’t able to actually do the business they need to do to take care of some of these other concerns, especially around the coronavirus disease,” said Jarvi.
The Attorney General says so far most of the calls have focused on the Ionia County Health Department. But all Michigan residents are reminded to never give your personal information over the phone to someone you don’t know.
“Official government business, they’re generally not going to be asking you for your information over the phone,” said Jarvi. “Your information is your private personal information. And any time that’s given out, it could be used to steal your identity.”
If you want to make a report about a potential scam, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Team by clicking HERE or call 1-877-765-8388.