Scammers Target Seniors for Medicare, Social Security Data as 73% of Facebook Scam Ad Impressions Hit Over-65s
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Scammers Target Seniors for Medicare, Social Security Data as 73% of Facebook Scam Ad Impressions Hit Over-65s
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 15
Summary
Unexpected calls, texts and emails are being used to impersonate Medicare and Social Security, pressuring older adults to hand over Medicare numbers, Social Security numbers, bank details or immediate payments.
The schemes work by inventing urgency — suspended benefits, frozen accounts, refunds, replacement cards or criminal cases — even though Medicare does not cold-call for sensitive data and Social Security does not suspend numbers or demand instant payment.
Roughly 73% of impressions from leading Medicare scam ads on Facebook reached users over 65, while AI-polished scripts, spoofed caller ID and cloned voices are making fake government contacts harder to spot.
Key red flags include unsolicited outreach, threats, requests for verification codes or unusual payments such as gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, Zelle or cash by mail.
The guidance is to stop the interaction, verify claims through official agency contacts, review Medicare and bank records, and place a fraud alert or credit freeze quickly if personal information was already shared.