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Take Simple Actions to Prevent Phone Scams & Protect Yourself If Scammed

California Health Advocates > Fraud & Abuse > Take Simple Actions to Prevent Phone Scams & Protect Yourself If Scammed

Posted by Karen Fletcher on September 20, 2013

Take Simple Actions to Prevent
Phone Scams &
Protect Yourself If Scammed

Here is a quick action plan checklist if you feel you
have been scammed or your identity compromised.

  • If you’ve been scammed, notify your bank. If a scammer has any part of your account number, close it immediately. Open a new account with new account number.
  • Contact the 3 credit bureaus: Experian 888-397-3742, EquiFax 800-685-1111 & TransUnion 800-888-4213 and post a fraud alert statement. Freeze your Credit Bureau Report (CBR) if you are not opening any new credit cards or have any major purchases.
  • Contact your phone company and if you don’t have it, get Caller ID. Tell them you are a senior citizen and had a fraud/scam attempt. There are special low-cost programs to help cover the cost of Caller ID.
  • If you have Caller ID, give the phone number used by the scam caller to the phone company and have the number blocked.
  • Add your phone number to the Do Not Call List. Register each phone number you have by calling from each number (cell phone and home phone) 888-382-1222
  • Call the police or sheriff to at least file a report. If enough people call in, they will pay more attention. We can track the scammers by zip codes they are targeting.
  • Notify your local newspaper; write a letter to the editor.
  • Notify your local TV and radio stations. Many of them will report your incident in their broadcasts as a Community Service.
  • Call your local Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) & Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) to report healthcare fraud at 855-613-7080.

Remember, we can only stop them with your help. Together we can win this!

 

Filed Under: Fraud & Abuse, News

Previous Post: « Fraudulent Health Care Exchange Website Taken Down
Next Post: Protect Yourself from Obamacare Scams this Fall »

About Karen Fletcher

Our blogger Karen J. Fletcher is CHA's publications consultant. She provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare, health disparities and other health care issues. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she serves in health advocacy as a trainer and consultant. See her current articles.

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