Free Medicare Back Brace

Free Medicare Back Brace Scam: How It Works

Beware of the Free Medicare Back Brace Scam. How does it work? It comes to a phone call offering no-cost back braces covered by Medicare. It could also relate to knee braces, so beware. Let’s take a deeper dive at the case.

Scams have become popular among frequent users of the latest technology, being that the majority of them happen through emails, instant, or SMS messaging.

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There have been constant reports of various kinds of cybercriminals attacking careless yet curious people. But, have you ever thought that a victim of a cybercriminal can be your grandma or grandpa, who may not even use the Internet?

Well, here is one of the most common Medicare scams out there: Back Brace For Medicare Patients call. Let's look at it.

Watch the video below to see the scam exposed or keep reading:

The Bogus Call Offer: Back Braces Covered by Medicare

The target of the Free Medicare Back Brace scam is mostly seniors. They attract cybercriminals who call them to inform them about “how lucky they were.” They say that a person in the household is qualified to receive back braces covered by Medicare. What is even better, they say: “You will get the Medicare brace for free.”

The caller introduces himself as a Medicare representative or a producer of durable medical equipment (DME). This is the case in most of the Medicare scam calls.

Some seniors may respond by saying that they are not yet in need of Medicare braces. However, the callers have the words with them “You will miss a chance to get the equipment for free. You are not getting any younger”, they say and will try to convince the victims to take it.

The back brace phone calls are very persistent this time of the year, yet seniors permit crooks to submit an order to their doctor for the free Medicare back braces. Talk to your elders and let them know about this fake Medicare coverage helpline scam.

Back Brace Medicare Fraud At Its Best

Be aware that there were reports when people did not comply with the task request, yet they got the “free” Medicare braces anyway. Taking into account the rules and regulations, making calls to people about durable medical equipment is forbidden.

In other cases, seniors received the equipment without any prior notice, and Medicare obtained the bill. If you happen to be the victim of the Free Medicare Back Braces scam, it is not easy to return the gear.

Back Brace For Medicare Patients: How To Avoid The Scam

Our suggestion is to hang up in case you receive these kinds of calls. Do not even think about providing them with your Medicare information. If you do so, you can expect that they will use it to bill Medicare for the equipment.

Medicare fraud is very prevalent as it has cost around $60 billion. Only in April 2019, 24 people across the country reported or were the victims of DME fraud, which cost approximately $1.2 billion.

If you get durable medical equipment that is not necessary for you and do not provide a report about it – you may have problems later. You may wonder how it is possible? One day you may really need braces. When this time comes, Medicare may not pay your bill, as they have provided you with braces years before.

How To Protect Yourself

There are a few effective steps that you can take to protect yourself from these criminals. First, it is necessary to reject the offers and notify the authorities about this attempt.

You need to report people who offered you “free” equipment and asked you for your Medicare number. See below how.

It is essential to know that Medicare medical suppliers are forbidden to make telephone calls. Also, to send emails to people, especially if they aim to sell the equipment.

These kinds of calls or emails may be sent only to people who were already in contact with them in the previous 15 months and have made a deal about the equipment. You can protect yourself if you do not sign a blank form that may be provided to you by your doctor or supplier.

In case you get this kind of call, and you reject it, you should read your Medicare Summary Notice (MSN) or Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to make sure that they did not charge you for equipment not necessary to you or that you did not receive.

Those who possess Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security cards should not keep them in their wallets. Our suggestion is to use them only when you come to see your health care provider.

If a brace or any other kind of medical equipment is what you need, you should not order it via phone sellers. They do not know what type of brace is necessary for you. Talk to your doctor, who is in charge of ordering this for you.

If your healthcare provider did not order it, but it comes to your door, we advise you not to accept it, as you may be experiencing some issues later on.

How To Report the Free Medicare Back Braces Scam

If you notice that you are a victim of a Medicare braces scammer who is calling you on your phone, as nobody from Medicare will contact you with an offer of “free” equipment, you need to hang up and take one of the following steps against this fraud:

• Call your health care provider and talk to him or her about this scam.
• You can also call the Medicare fraud hotline at 800-633-4227 (800-MEDICARE) or file a complaint at the Better Business Bureau Complaints page.
• Get in touch with Senior Medicare Patrols at 877-808-2468 or smpresource.org.
• You can report the fraud as well to the FBI at 1-800-Call-FBI.

The best way to protect people you love and care about from this scam is to send them this link. They need to be familiar with this scam, especially if Medicare covers them.

Before the last part of this article, make sure you avoid another couple of common Medicare fraud cases, such as the Health Insurance Exchange or the Medical Alert Systems Reviews.

Medicare Back Brace: How Else You Can Report a Scammer

Warn your elders about the Free Medicare Back Brace Scam by sharing this article here, on social media, using the icons. You can also officially report criminals to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) using the link below or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP:

Report To The FTC Here

 

How To Prevent Identity Theft and More

If you want to receive the most notorious scams every week, subscribe to the Scam Detector newsletter by clicking this link. You'll receive periodic emails, not spam. Last but not least, educate yourself with some other medical fraud-related articles below. Feel free to use the comments section below to expose other Medicare scammers.

Here are some must-reads for the end:

Free Blood Pressure Check Scam

Medical Billing Service Scam

Free Medicare Bracelets Scam

Health Insurance Innovations: Scam Complaints