Americans Urged to Remove Data Before Oct. 15 Medicare Scams, as 72% of Elder Fraud Tied to Exposure
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Americans Urged to Remove Data Before Oct. 15 Medicare Scams, as 72% of Elder Fraud Tied to Exposure
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Summary
August and September are the key window to opt out of data-broker and people-search sites before scammers finalize fall target lists tied to Medicare Open Enrollment on Oct. 15 and the expected Social Security COLA announcement on Oct. 14.
Public benefit dates let fraudsters time calls, while exposed profiles on sites such as Spokeo and Whitepages can add addresses, relatives and property details that make fake Medicare or Social Security outreach sound credible.
Justice Department cases show how that pipeline has worked: Epsilon’s data on about 100 million households was sold into fraud schemes, helping one operation defraud 218,000 victims of more than $23.7 million; Epsilon later paid $150 million.
Research cited in the report found 72% of crimes reported by Americans over 60 in 2024 were facilitated or worsened by personal data online, accounting for $4.2 billion of $4.9 billion in losses.
The practical advice is to search your own and relatives’ profiles now, submit broker opt-out requests early, consider automated removal services, set a family code word and remember Medicare cards and Social Security COLA increases are automatic and free.