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  • Geebo 8:31 am on January 4, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: healthcare, Ozempic, , ,   

    Online Ozempic sales pose a threat to consumers 

    By Greg Collier

    Ozempic is a brand name medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. It is typically used in conjunction with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

    During clinical trials for Ozempic’s approval for diabetes treatment, researchers noted that participants experienced weight loss as a side effect. This observation prompted further investigation into the potential use of Ozempic specifically for weight management.

    Some healthcare professionals may prescribe medications off-label, meaning for a purpose other than what the drug was initially approved for. This has led to a rush on Ozempic prescriptions for patients who do not have diabetes, and only want the medication for quick weight loss. However, Ozempic has not been officially approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration for weight loss. This has led to a shortage of the medication, which is negatively affecting diabetes patients.

    When a drug like this becomes popular, especially for the sake of vanity, scammers and counterfeiters will try to separate those seeking the drug for its off-label effects from their money. This is a scam that is as old as the internet. If you were online during the late 1990s and early 2000s, you probably had your spam folder flooded with offers for cheap Viagra. While we haven’t seen offers for Ozempic in our inboxes, they have been posted all over social media and less reputable online marketplaces.

    If someone were trying to buy Ozempic from a fraudulent service, the odds are they would pay their money and get nothing in return. In a worst-case scenario, consumers could receive any kind of concoction they would end up injecting into their systems.

    Some of these phony services even go as far as having the buyer undergo a virtual consultation with one of the scammers posing as a doctor.

    Even if someone were to receive an actual shipment of Ozempic, if they’re not using it under a real doctor’s care, the effects could be devastating. Using too much Ozempic could lead to hypoglycemia, pancreatitis, and kidney injuries, just to name a few.

    These scam services are also having their customers pay through some of the usual avenues preferred by scammers, such as payment apps like Venmo and cryptocurrency.

    Ozempic, like any prescription medication, should only be used under the direction of your physician. Using medications without proper medical supervision can be risky and may lead to adverse effects.

    Self-prescribing or obtaining Ozempic without a prescription can pose serious health risks and is not recommended. Always consult a healthcare provider to determine the most suitable and safe approach to weight management.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 27, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , healthcare, , ,   

    Medicare scammers don’t know you have Medicare 

    Medicare scammers don't know you have Medicare

    By Greg Collier

    Medicare scammers are some of the worst. There are few things more heinous than threatening the elderly with the health benefits they earned in life. Scammers often call their elderly victims, posing as Medicare, while trying to get the victim’s Medicare information. This way, the scammers can file fraudulent claims under the victim’s Medicare policy. The victim’s will often be told benign things like Medicare is issuing a new type of ID card. Or they’ll be threatened with the loss of their benefits if the victim doesn’t comply with the caller.

    Here’s something to keep in mind, though. Most of the time, Medicare scammers are calling people blind, hoping they have Medicare. For example, a man in Indiana receives up to 35 calls a day from Medicare scammers. Except, the man hasn’t reached the age when most people enroll in Medicare. The man believes the reason he keeps getting so many scam calls is because he did what you’re supposed to do with a phone, he answered it. Once scammers know that they’ve reached a legitimate number and there’s an actual person on the other end, they continue to spam that person with phone calls. This isn’t strictly for Medicare scammers, either, as many different types of scammers will employ the same calling technique.

    As far as Medicare scams themselves go, please keep this one piece of information in mind. Medicare will not call you on the phone, unless you called them first with some kind of issue or concern. Medicare will not call you, asking you for your Medicare number. They will also not call you to offer you discounts on medical equipment or supplies. If Medicare does need to communicate with you, they will do so exclusively by postal mail. Even if the caller ID says that it’s Medicare calling, unless you called them first, that’s not them.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 13, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: collection agency, , , healthcare, , ,   

    Beware phony medical bills 

    By Greg Collier

    The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning stating people have been receiving phony medical bills in the mail. Scammers are hoping that recipients of the phony bills will be so panicked about it, they’ll make an immediate payment to the scammers. When someone demands an immediate payment in full for a medical bill, that may be a tip off that the bill is part of a scam.

    Whether it’s a medical practice or a medical collection agency, most facilities will be willing to work with you on paying the balance. The first thing you would want to do is research the charge itself. If you didn’t have a doctor or hospital visit on or around the date of service, the bill may be fraudulent. If you did have a visit around that time, contact the medical facility used and ask if this was a service they performed or requested.

    You can also check with your health insurance company to see if any bill from the questionable practice was submitted to them. This also a good reason to keep the explanation of benefits (EOBs) that your insurance company sends you after a claim is completed.

    Legitimate medical practices, facilities, and collection agencies will be more than willing to help set up some kind of payment plan if someone is unable to pay the full balance of their bill. Some practices will even offer a significant discount if you can pay the balance in one payment if it’s a substantial balance.

    If you’re unsure whether the bill is legitimate or not, ask the biller for a debt verification letter. If they refuse to provide this, they could be scammers, as only legitimate facilities will be able to provide this.

    Never give any financial or personal information to anyone claiming you have a medical bill balance without first verifying the charges. This includes your health insurance information. While most of these scammers are looking for a quick payday, others may be looking to commit insurance fraud with your insurance information.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on May 26, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , healthcare, , ,   

    Scammers try last-minute Medicare fraud 

    By Greg Collier

    If you are a Medicare recipient and have recently received COVID tests you didn’t order, you might be the victim of Medicare fraud. With the Public Health Emergency around COVID being declared over this month, scammers have been sending COVID tests to Medicare recipients, while billing Medicare at close to $100 a pop. Victims have said they received multiple COVID tests from providers that were outside of their state.

    Now, some Medicare recipients may not think that this is a big deal. They might think they got free COVID tests while Medicare paid for it. So, what’s the big deal? Outside of their Medicare information being compromised, any kind of fraudulent charge billed to Medicare can have negative effects on a policyholder’s benefits.

    If a fraudulent charge goes undetected, the patient may be responsible for paying out-of-pocket for services or supplies they did not receive or need. Medicare has coverage limits for various services and supplies. Fraudulent charges can lead to unnecessary utilization of these benefits, causing patients to exhaust their coverage limits prematurely. If fraudulent claims are submitted using the patient’s Medicare information, it can lead to confusion in medical records and billing systems. This may result in delays, denials, or even the denial of legitimate claims, causing a disruption in the patient’s ongoing care and treatment plans. Lastly, fraudulent claims sent to Medicare increase healthcare costs in general.

    If you receive tests that you didn’t order, contact Medicare immediately at the customer service number on your Medicare card. To help prevent future fraud, policyholders should always review the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements they receive in the mail. These statements show how a claim was paid and to whom.

    Any suspicious charges or discrepancies should be reported to Medicare’s fraud hotline, so they can try to rectify the situation. Additionally, staying informed about common fraud schemes and protecting personal Medicare information can help reduce the risk of fraudulent activities.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 17, 2023 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , healthcare, ,   

    Cancer patient targeted in scam 

    By Greg Collier

    A Utah woman who is currently undergoing cancer treatment almost fell victim to a scam at probably the most vulnerable time of her life. As you may expect, her treatments are expensive, and she was looking for any kind of financial assistance to help pay her medical bills. She received a message from a Facebook friend who offered to help her apply for a grant that would help pay for her medical expenses. With some of her treatments costing thousands of dollars each, she was open to the idea.

    If you’re a regular reader, you already know this is a common scam that takes place on Facebook. These grants that ‘friends’ keep promising don’t actually exist. In a typical grant scam, the victim will be directed to a phony website where they’ll be asked for all their personal and financial information. Then the victim will be asked for a payment under the guise of a processing fee.

    This is precisely what happened to the Utah woman. She was directed to a website to fill out an application, but in the middle of the process she got a bad feeling and cancelled the application.

    She messaged her Facebook friend saying she was going to think about it. The friend started pressuring her to complete the application. When the woman insisted she wasn’t going to, the Facebook friend disappeared.

    As you can probably surmise, her Facebook friend had their account hacked and taken over by scammers. Who knows for how long, but it was long enough to find someone who was battling an expensive illness.

    Any financial grant giver, whether it’s from the government or a nonprofit, will not approach you. You need to search them out first. Unless your Facebook friend works for the government or non-profit, it’s very unlikely they are going to put in the legwork for you.

    That’s not to say there aren’t any assistance grants out there to help you. We recommend going to the USA.gov website to help you find any legitimate grants you may be eligible for.

     
  • Geebo 9:00 am on December 28, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , healthcare, , omicron variant,   

    New variant brings same old scams 

    By Greg Collier

    With the advent of the Omicron variant, the demand for COVID testing has increased to the point of scarcity. Unfortunately, scammers and other con artists are well aware of this crisis and are looking to take advantage of it, so they can line their pockets. It’s gotten so bad in the state of Georgia that the state Attorney General’s office has issued a warning about scams related to COVID testing. While a testing shortage might not be happening in your state currently, Georgia’s current situation can be used as a reminder to look out for these scams.

    The Peach State is warning its residents to be aware of anyone going door to door offering COVID testing. Residents have also been told to be wary of anyone wanting to charge a fee for in-person testing. If you live in Georgia, you can go to the Department of Public Health’s website that has a listing of legitimate testing centers. While not mentioned by the Georgia Attorney General, some COVID scammers are after the medical insurance information of the heir victims, especially if they have Medicare. You should only give your healthcare information to a trusted medical provider.

    These phony testing scams aren’t just dangerous to the victim, but they’re dangerous to the public as well. If a victim is told they had a negative test result by a scammer, but actually have COVID, they could go on to spread it to their family, friends, and community with disastrous results. If you’ve spotted a COVID testing scam or have been a victim of one, it’s recommended that you contact your state’s Division of Consumer Protection.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 15, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , healthcare, ,   

    Addiction centers are still scamming patients 

    By Greg Collier

    Having a family member with a substance abuse problem is one of the worst experiences in life to go through. Just getting them to admit that they have a problem is a monumental step on the road to recovery. But what then? Some people choose to admit themselves to an addiction center, more commonly known as rehab. But which one? Should they stay local or go to one out of state? Should they go to one of the addiction centers advertised on daytime TV? Well, before you answer any of those questions, you should probably know about how people suffering with addiction are often scammed into entering a fraudulent program.

    Two men from Massachusetts were recently arrested for allegedly committing insurance fraud by recruiting recovering addicts into poorly run addiction centers. The pair is accused of signing up their victims to treatment centers in Florida, where the patients would receive little to no actual treatment. The men are also accused of opening insurance policies in their victims names and collecting kickbacks from the insurance claims the treatment center filed. Sometimes the insurance policies would go unpaid, which would result in the victim being put out on the street hundreds of miles from home. One of the men is even said to have recruited his victims from local recovery meetings in Massachusetts.

    Unfortunately, this is not a new type of scam. These recruiters are known as body brokers and have been doing this for a while. In past instances, some patients were even paid to relapse, so the addiction centers could continue to bill the insurance companies.

    As with any life-changing decision, take the time to do the research on any facilities you or a loved one may be considering. Do a web search with the name of the facility and the word complaint to see how previous patients felt like they were treated. The Better Business Bureau website is also a great resource for trying to separate the scammers from the legitimate facilities.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on October 14, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: healthcare, , , ,   

    Medicare open enrollment brings out scammers 

    Medicare open enrollment brings out scammers

    By Greg Collier

    This Friday, October 15th 2021, starts the period known as Open Enrollment for all Medicare recipients. Until December 7th, Medicare recipients will be able to decide if they want to stay with their current Medicare coverage or switch to a new insurer. With so many options to choose from and so many changes made each year, it can be difficult for seniors to keep up with all the necessary policies and paperwork each year. Unfortunately, Open Enrollment is also open season for Medicare scammers and fraudsters. Not only are there scams to go along with Open Enrollment, but some bad business practices as well.

    While not technically a scam, some less than reputable insurance brokers will try to pressure seniors into switching to their company’s Medicare Advantage plan. While Advantage plans can be beneficial to some, they can also be limiting to others. It all depends on the patient’s personal needs, but some insurance agents are just looking for the sale. If you’re thinking about switching from Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan, please take the time to research the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Don’t let some salesman pressure you into a decision that you may regret having for the following year.

    As far as scams go, identity theft is often the biggest threat seniors face during Open Enrollment. Scammers will call their victims posing as being from the government with an official-sounding title like ‘health care benefits advocate’, or something along those lines. The victim will be promised that they’ll be signed up for the same or better coverage at a lower price. The phony agent will ask for all the victim’s personal information, including their Medicare number. Medicare fraudsters will then use the stolen number to charge Medicare with fraudulent procedures or items which could affect the victim’s benefits down the line. These scammers will also use high-pressure tactics to get the victim’s information, like telling the victim their benefits could expire if they don’t give their information right now. The calls can even appear as they’re coming from Medicare’s official phone number.

    If you’re already enrolled in Medicare, your Medicare plan will only call you if you’re already a member of that plan. If you feel uncomfortable taking the call, you can always call your insurance company’s customer service number on the back of your insurance card.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on September 16, 2021 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , genetic testing, healthcare, , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Beware of these Medicare scams 

    By Greg Collier

    There have been a number of stories about Medicare scams in the news this week. Unfortunately, they all deal with victims giving their Medicare numbers to scammers over the phone. Here are the highlights of each scam.

    ***

    The AARP is warning Medicare recipients across the country about a phone scam where the fraudsters are threatening victims with termination of their benefits. The scammers are posing as Medicare and calling seniors across the country, telling the seniors that they need a new Medicare card or their benefits will be terminated. The scammers will then ask the victim for their Medicare number for the supposed new card. Instead, the scammers are selling the Medicare numbers to other scammers, who may use the numbers to file false claims. When Medicare does issue new cards, they do so through the mail and will not call recipients asking for information that Medicare should already have.

    ***

    Patients of a healthcare network in Missouri have reported receiving calls from scammers posing as hospital representatives. This includes spoofing the hospital’s actual phone number. Many of the calls have been trying to get patients to order medical equipment like back and knee braces. The scammers have been asking for patients’ Social Security and Medicare numbers. You should only order medical equipment like this if directed by your physician. To do so any other way could lead to fraudulent claims or ill-fitting and ineffective equipment. No physician or medical professional will ever call you unsolicited to try to sell you any medical equipment.

    ***

    Lastly, we have another scam that’s been targeting Medicare recipients nationwide. In this scam, again, the victims are being cold-called, which is something Medicare will never do. The scammers are claiming to be a patient advocate working with Medicare. They offer free genetic testing to detect cancer or heart disease, but if you don’t act soon, you’ll be ineligible for the free procedure. Again, Medicare does not make offers on medical procedures like it’s double coupon day at your local supermarket. Usually, if a test is ordered through one of these calls, it either never appears or is dubious in quality and efficacy. This could also affect patients in the future if they need one of these tests, but already have one billed to Medicare. These tests are quite expensive, and this scam could lead to patients having a substantial medical bill in the thousands.

    ***

    It really is just good practice to not give your Medicare number out over the phone, especially to someone who calls you out of the blue.

     
  • Geebo 8:00 am on March 13, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , healthcare, ,   

    Phony coronavirus websites are on the rise 

    Phony coronavirus websites are on the rise

    Previously when we discussed coronavirus related phishing attacks, we mentioned that emails sent by scammers will try to disguise themselves as being from organizations like the CDC or WHO by using similar email addresses to the actual ones. For example, if the CDC were to send an email the address would be from cdc.gov. Scammers may try to use an address like CDC-gov.com. Not being satisfied with just posing as life-saving aid organizations, scammers are now registering coronavirus related domains in droves. These are the addresses that use to go to a website such as geebo.com.

    According to cybersecurity experts, scammers are registering domains such as coronavirusstatus[.]space, coronavirus[.]zone and survivecoronavirus[.]org just to name a few. A more comprehensive list can be found at this link. Scammers are registering these domain names either to use in phishing emails or to inject malware on your device. For the foreseeable future, if you get an email with a domain name that contains the word ‘coronavirus’ or other related terms, consider it to be harmful. Any links or attachments that these emails contain should not be clicked on as they could lead to malware which could potentially steal your personal or financial information. You could then unwittingly infect all devices connected to your network.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPaybzkHtw%5D

    And again, you should be on the lookout for other coronavirus scams as well. Like we’ve mentioned before, as of the time of this posting, there is no cure or vaccine for the coronavirus. Anyone promising you otherwise is trying to rip you off. Testing is limited in the US right now, anyone who is not a government agency or medical professional cannot test you for coronavirus and is either pushing snake oil or trying to steal your financial information.

    While the coronavirus, or covid-19 if you prefer, is a real danger and something we should be concerned about, don’t allow fear to get the better of you. In a crisis like this, panic helps no one. Look to your local media and state government about how the virus is affecting your area and heed those warnings. If we all work together, we can get through this.

     
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