Our California Senior Medicare Patrol has seen an alarming increase in fraudulent billing where older adults are deceived into getting a cheek swab procedure done (aka genetic testing). The scammer claims that this procedure will test for cancer and/or other health conditions and that it is fully covered by Medicare or Medi-Cal.
The scammers offer their fraudulent services to administrators at senior centers, senior residential facilities and other locations. We’ve even had reports of them setting up stands at supermarkets and other public locations.
We have additional reports that insurance agents and other service-oriented professionals are unknowingly recruited to serve as lead generators.
Please help us prevent the victimization of our older adults by alerting your networks to this most recent fraud scam.
For more information, see:
- SMP Warning: “Free” Genetic Testing or Cancer Screening Offers Are a Scam
- Fraud Alert: Beware of Genetic Testing for Beneficiaries in Group Settings (see our Fraud Alerts page for this and other fraud alerts in multiple languages)
- Scammers May Be Using DNA Testing to Defraud Medicare & Steal Identities
Protecting Elders from Financial Scams by Holding Big Banks Accountable