Better Business Bureaus of Southern Arizona is warning seniors of telephone calls from scammers, claiming to be with Medicare, and asking for personal information- like social security numbers and bank account numbers.

Seniors in Tucson, and elsewhere in Arizona, have reported receiving calls from individuals claiming to be with Medicare offering “free” items such as a back brace and diabetic supplies, in exchange for consumers’ financial and personal information.

In another scenario, the caller claims “all seniors are getting a new Medicare card” and, for verification purposes, they must provide the bank account number associated with their social security benefits.

“Consumers should be suspicious of unsolicited calls from anyone claiming to be from Medicare,” said Kim States, BBB President. “Medicare will generally not make unsolicited calls to update information, issue a new card or offer free medical equipment. We recommend seniors hang up and call a trusted Medicare number if they have questions regarding their benefits.”

BBB offers the following tips on safeguarding personal information and protecting against Medicare scams:

• Be suspicious of any door-to-door or telephone solicitations claiming to be affiliated with Medicare.
• Be wary of anyone offering you something for “free” in exchange for your Medicare number. Remember, Medicare will not pay for medical equipment without a physician’s signature certifying that it is necessary.
• Do not provide your bank account information, Medicare number, social security number or any other personal information to unknown individuals over the phone; particularly telephone marketers claiming to be from Medicare and asking for payment.
• Review medical bills, Medicare Summary notices and insurance Explanation of Benefits for medical equipment or service charges that you did not incur. If you find unusual or questionable medical charges, contact your health care provider immediately.
• Only give your insurance/Medicare information to those who have provided you with medical services.
• Keep accurate records of medical appointments, procedures and medical equipment.
• Ask your medical providers what they will charge and how much you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket.
• Never sign blank Medicare insurance forms.
• Call BBB at (520)888-5353 to obtain information on a business or visit www.tucson.bbb.org.
• Ensure your provider is approved by Medicare by contacting them directly at 1-800-633-4227.

To report suspected Medicare fraud, contact the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General at oig.hhs.gov or call 1-800-447-8477. Arizona residents may also contact the Arizona Division of Aging and Adult Services at 1-800-432-4040.

Prescriptions can be expensive. Many people, especially seniors, have to have them refilled month after month, year after year. It’s not surprising that con artists play on people’s need to find discounted medicine.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers to be aware that “free discount prescription cards” are being offered by unscrupulous individuals. The card is worthless. It’s a ploy to acquire your bank information.

Another approach to defraud is someone telling you must join the prescription drug plan or you lose your Medicare benefits. Don’t believe them. There is a list of Medicare-approved prescription drug plans. The list of approved plans and other information about the program are available at www.medicare.gov or by calling (800) 633-4227.

The July 2012 issue of Costco Connection says seniors may receive offers to buy medicine at 50 percent off or in bulk via mail, email or unsolicited phone calls. Some of these offers require a significant membership fee and/or they want the senior’s credit card number. You may never receive the drugs. If you do, you can’t be sure of the quality. That alone could be dangerous.

If the “plan” asks for your social security number before you actually enroll, consider that a huge red flag. Do not give your personal information out.

“Know the law on how Medicare prescription drug plans can be marketed,” says the National Consumers League’s Internet Fraud Watch. Companies cannot come to your door uninvited or send you unsolicited emails. They may call and promote their plan but not sign you up during those calls. Of course, if you are on the federal “do not call” registry, it’s illegal for them to call you.

If you think you are being approached by a fraudulent Medicare drug plan, call the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services, (800) 447-8477. You’ll be helping many unsuspecting people.

For more information on scams and consumer alerts visit www.tucson.bbb.org.

Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers of a scam targeting the financial data of Facebook, Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail users. The scam infects its victim’s computers with a version of the Zeus Trojan virus- a malware program regularly used to commit bank fraud.

Trusteer, the computer security firm that discovered the scam, says the virus targets Facebook users by getting them to link their Visa or MasterCard debit cards to their Facebook account; enticing them with a fake 20 percent cash back offer.

Malware scams on social networks can be particularly malicious because the fraudulent offers appear to come from trusted friends. In the case of Facebook, scammers will often hijack a user’s  account by getting the user to click on their post and accept their application, which can give the scammers access to all of the user’s account information, and allow them make unauthorized posts in the user’s name.

The Zeus Trojan virus has been used by scammers for years to steal financial information from unsuspecting consumers. Different versions of the virus are used by vast international crime syndicates, who have employed the virus to steal over $60 million and infect over 4 million computers in 196 countries since 2007, according to the FBI.

BBB offers these tips to users of social networks to avoid scams:

• When using Facebook, never install a game or an application that you’re not entirely sure is legitimate.
• On Facebook and Twitter be wary of posts from friends that use overtly promotional language. Examples would be: “Check out how I lost 20 pounds in two weeks,” or “I just received a FREE $50 Amazon gift card. Click here to get yours!”  A good rule of thumb: if it doesn’t seem like language your friend would normally use, your friend probably didn’t post it.
• Never click on Facebook posts, or install applications, that claim they will tell you which of your friends viewed your profile. It’s impossible to find out who is viewing your profile, and any application that claims it can show you is a scam.
• On Twitter and Facebook beware of promotional offers using shorted links that look similar to this: http://is.gd/b8XwNO. While shortened links are commonly used by legitimate businesses, they mask the true URL of the destination Web site, and scammers will use them to direct their victims to sites that will infect their computers with malware.
• If you mistakenly install a dubious application on Facebook click on the “Home” icon in the top right-hand corner of the site, and go to “Account Settings.” On the right-hand column of the page click on the icon that says “Apps,” and uninstall the suspect application. After you do that, BBB recommends you change your account password in case that has been compromised as well.

For more information on how you can keep your financial and personal data safe online visit www.bbb.org/data-security. If you think you may have been a victim of an online scam you can file a complaint with the FBI at www.ic3.gov.