Medicare Insurers Took $9.2 Billion In Federal Payments In One Year Via Controversial Billing Practices : By Derek Baine

A building with the capitol in the background.


There seems to be no end to the tricks insurers will come up with in order to suck more money out of Medicare.  According to the findings of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, it analyzed 20 companies and investigators found that one received about 40% of the questionable payments, or $3.7 billion, while enrolling only 22% of Medicare Advantage customers.  It wouldn’t name the company, but BMO Capital Market looked at federal data and showed that the enrollment share closely matches UnitedHealth Group Inc. during the period the investors looked at.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-of-9-2-billion-in-questionable-medicare-payments-went-to-20-insurers-federal-investigators-say-11632303001

Monterey, CA Online Scams Abound : Elder Abuse Fundraising Scams Abound

A woman looking out of the window at her home.


There was a sad story in The New York Times recently about how some fundraisers—including many politicians—trick people (particularly senior citizens) into donating more than they want to.  The story profiled Steve Vaughn, who started to go through his fathers bank statement after he died and was shocked to see 400 donations totaling more than $11K over just a four month period.  There were donations to Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell, Tim Scott, Steve Scalise and many others.  There were notes with the bank statements showing the 90-year old had repeatedly try to dispute the charges with his credit card company—all to no avail.  Here is how the scam works.  Fundraisers will call you and ask you for a donation and once you agree, they will enter them into the system as a recurring payment.  Instead of taking a fixed amount, say $100, out of your account, they will take out $100 every month or sometimes every week.  They are hoping people aren’t diligent about going over their bank statements, so pay attention!  Many of them are targeting high-income areas of Monterey County like Carmel, Pacific Grove & Pebble Beach.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html

Carmel, CA Elder Abuse Alert : Fed Ex And UPS Tracking Alerts Could Be Fake : By Derek Baine


Unfortunately, elder abuse scams continue to abound.  The latest; fake package notifications from Amazon.com, FedEx, UPS and others.  With e-commerce sales hitting an all-time high due to the coronavirus, more and more email delivery alerts are popping up but they may not all be legitimate.  Fake email messages often contain the logo of the shipping company, making them look more legitimate.  Getting you to click on a link is the main objective of these scams.  Others send an attachment with malware in it, so never click on an attachment from an unknown sender.  Most come with a call to action such as purporting there is a problem with the shipping address or the payment method, attempting to get you to click through.  Always go to where you made the purchase to check on the order status.

https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20283-scam-alert-dont-be-fooled-by-a-fake-package-delivery-scam

Carmel, CA & Pebble Beach, CA Are Hot Spots For Elder Abuse Scams

A woman looking out of the window at her home.


Because of the wealth in Carmel and Pebble Beach, there continue to be a number of reports of financial elder abuse.  Sadly, most scams are carried out by close friends or family.  Stay alert, and never give out your passwords or other information that can give someone access to your accounts.  Shockingly, one case locally involved someone getting a woman to sign over the deed to her house.  She had dementia, and didn’t realize what she was doing.  If you suspect that you or a loved one is the victim of elder abuse, contact Monterey County Adult Protective Services at 1-800-510-2020 or go the website below.  According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, suspicious activity reports (SARS) on the exploitation of the elderly quadrupled from 2013 to 2017.  The U.S. Department of Justice set up a hotline to report fraud in March of last year.  They can be reached at 1-833-372-8311.

http://mcdss.co.monterey.ca.us/aging/

https://www.ojp.gov/news/ojp-blogs/2020-ojp-blogs/national-hotline-helps-victims-elder-financial-fraud

 

Pacific Grove, CA Elder Abuse Alert From Citibank

A pile of money sitting next to stacks of cash.


Citibank is alerting cardholders that someone has implemented a phishing scam which involves the crooks to obtain information to allow them to access your account.  Unfortunately, they are doing an all-out attack, contacting people by email, text and phone and impersonating a Citibank employee.  The bank has committed to never ask for your account number, security word, PIN number, checking account number and other sensitive information.  Be on the alert!