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Medicare Scam Calls Spike As Open Enrollment Begins

Medicare’s 2026 Open Enrollment period opened on October 15, 2026, and so did the busiest season for fraud calls targeting beneficiaries. Scammers posing as government officials are flooding phone lines this fall with fake card updates, genetic test offers, and threats to cancel coverage.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that these impersonation schemes intensify every year during the enrollment window, which runs through December 7, 2026. Once scammers obtain a Medicare number, they can bill the program for services the beneficiary never received and commit identity theft.

This comes amid a growing wave of impersonation fraud, which has cost Americans billions of dollars in recent years.

Older adults on fixed-income retirement plans are especially vulnerable because they often cannot recover the savings they lose to these schemes, according to the FTC June 2026 release.

Also read: Retirees have just 24 hours between two big 2027 dates

Three scripts Medicare scam callers use to steal your number

Fraudulent Medicare calls follow predictable scripts built around urgency, confusion, or free benefit offers, the FTC explained.

Common Medicare scam tactics to recognize

The card replacement pitch: Callers claim Medicare is issuing updated cards and ask beneficiaries to confirm their number or banking details to receive one. Real Medicare cards are free and automatically arrive by mail, with no action required from the beneficiary, the FTC confirmed.
The free genetic test offer: Scammers promise free genetic testing or equipment for a Medicare number, then bill the program for unrequested items. The beneficiary could owe the full cost if Medicare denies the claim, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General warned.
The benefits cancellation threat: Callers will warn that coverage will be suspended unless the beneficiary immediately verifies their Social Security number over the phone. Medicare will only request that beneficiaries verify their personal details when they initiate contact themselves, Medicare.gov stated.

Spoofed caller ID amplifies these scams by displaying Medicare’s name on the beneficiary’s phone before the call connects.

Rose Morales, a Senior Medicare Patrol Investigative Case Manager at California Health Advocates, told AARP that any caller requesting personal information raises a red flag.

Why enrollment season is the peak window for Medicare fraud calls

The annual Open Enrollment period creates favorable conditions for fraud because legitimate insurers and Medicare Advantage plans also contact beneficiaries during these weeks.

The overlap between real outreach and fraudulent calls makes it harder for retirees to distinguish one from the other, the FTC warned.

Scammers exploit the December 7 enrollment deadline to pressure beneficiaries into making hasty decisions about their coverage. Legitimate plan notices about coverage changes arrive around the same time, so an unexpected message about benefits does not immediately feel suspicious.

More Medicare/Medicaid:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations under 42 CFR §422.2263(a) and §423.2263(a) bar Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans from marketing 2027 coverage before October 1.

Plans generally cannot cold-call beneficiaries unless the person has given prior consent or is already enrolled in their program.

Nomorobo estimated that Medicare impersonation scam calls reached 7.6 million Americans in May 2026 alone, months before enrollment officially began. The scale of that early activity means enrollment season arrives with an already massive wave of fraudulent calls targeting the program’s beneficiaries.

Medicare’s open enrollment season creates opportunities for scammers to exploit coverage confusion, using fraudulent calls and urgent deadlines to target retirees.

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FTC imposter fraud data reveals a $3.5 billion problem

The financial toll from impersonation fraud has reached levels that federal regulators now consider a direct threat to public benefit programs, including Medicare. Americans reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, nearly tripling losses since 2020, the FTC reported.

Nearly one in three fraud reports the agency received that year involved some form of impersonation, the most common type of fraud. Losses to government impersonators, the fraud category that includes Medicare scams, climbed to roughly $920 million from $789 million the prior year.

Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC, emphasized that the agency views impersonation fraud as a fundamental threat to consumer welfare and to the functioning of competitive markets.

<strong>The FTC will use every tool available to combat one of the most pernicious forms of fraud, government and business impersonation, and to protect the integrity of the digital economy,</strong>

The agency has brought a dozen enforcement actions under its 2024 Impersonation Rule and obtained over $70 million in consumer restitution.

Those enforcement cases have targeted operators running health insurance impersonation schemes alongside fake tax-relief services and phantom debt-collection operations.

How to verify a suspicious Medicare call during Open Enrollment

The FTC has outlined specific steps for beneficiaries who receive an unexpected call claiming to represent Medicare or a health plan. Each step is designed to break the scammer’s script before personal information or Medicare numbers is shared.

Beneficiaries who receive a call requesting their Medicare or Social Security number should hang up and dial 1-800-MEDICARE directly, according to Medicare.gov. Those who have already shared personal details on a suspicious call should use that same hotline to report the exposure.

Those comparing plan options should contact their State Health Insurance Assistance Program for free and unbiased counseling.

The Senior Medicare Patrol also offers free local help detecting Medicare fraud, and suspected scams can be reported at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Filing a report at that site helps investigators trace the callers even when no money was lost in the exchange, the FTC added.

Schwab recommends reviewing Medicare summary notices in the weeks after a suspicious call as the fastest way to spot fraudulent billing.

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