Posts Tagged: scam
New Medicare cards coming: Don't get scammed!
Are you age 65 or older?
If so, you may be targeted by a new Medicare scam.
Medicare is issuing new benefit cards with new benefit ID numbers.
Why?
Look at your Medicare card. Your social security number, which is also your benefits number, is printed on your card. This has led to growing rates of identity theft among those 65 years and older.
Its easy for a thief to get your number. Anyone who stands close to you when you check out at the pharmacy can see the number and use it to steal your identity and may even fraudulently claim benefits in your name. The same thing can happen if someone sees your card when you open your wallet at the cash register, or finds your missing wallet (with your Medicare card inside).
What's changing?
The government redesigned the Medicare card so that it does not reveal your social security number. You will be assigned a new personal benefits number. Here's what the new card will look like:
What do you need to do?
Nothing.
That's important because scammers may try to take advantage of someone who is not aware of the process for receiving their new card.
The new card will be sent to you. You do not need to fill out a form, pay a fee, or give someone your social security number. Here's what the Federal Trade Commission advises to protect yourself:
- If you get a phone call, email, text or letter claiming to be from Medicare and asking for your social security or bank account number...
IGNORE it! That's a scam. Medicare will never call (or send an email, text message, or letter) and ask for this information. - If someone asks you to pay for a new Medicare card...
IGNORE them. That's a scam. Your new Medicare card is free. - If someone threatens to cancel you benefits unless you give them information or send money...
IGNORE them.That's also a scam. There will not be any changes to your benefits.
When will this change happen?
Delivery begins in April 2018 and will be completed by April 2019.
Questions?
Learn more at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/new-medicare-card/nmc-home.html
Latinos are target of predatory auto and student loans
For many Latino families, average household incomes in the past decade have gone down. Hispanics lost 66 percent of their household wealth following the Great Recession, and unemployment has been high among Latinos. This has resulted in two things. Households have reduced spending, but for big expenditures like mortgages, automobiles and higher education, families have to take on additional debt.
In the case of auto loans, for example, families with low credit scores have basically two options: Applying for a loan over the internet with a lender the consumer has never heard of, or financing through the car dealer. Low-income consumers or those with poor credit are more subject to yo-yo scams, where the dealer changes the terms of the initial loan yet refuses to give money back to the family if they don’t agree, and even threatens the consumer with auto theft if the buyer does not immediately return the car. Most families agree to the changes and pay interest rates of 5 percentage points or higher than conventional loans.
As credit has tightened, more low-income borrowers or those with subprime credit are using these kinds of services, warns the report.
In the area of student loans, the average student is graduating with around $25,000 in debt, and in 2008, eight percent of Latinos had debt of over $40,000. That percentage will increase as more Latinos pursue higher education. One way to limit risk is to take out federal loans instead of private student loans. Yet the study found that 40 percent of families had not used up their federal student loan eligibility, even though federal student loans have lower interest rates and easier payment terms. Private loans are riskier, since the uncapped adjustable rates make it harder for students to anticipate how much they will be paying years later. Private student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.
“A recent survey of student loan borrowers with high debt levels found that about 65 percent misunderstood or were surprised by aspects of their student loans or the student loan process,” said the report.
Understanding the risks of student loans is especially important as higher unemployment and a tighter job market has made it harder for more students to repay and has contributed to more loan defaults
The Center for Responsible Lending, urges Latino families to visit non-profit centers in their communities to obtain financial counseling and guidance before embarking on a car or student loan
Source: NBCLatino, by Sandra Lilley, Report: Predatory auto and student loans still targeting Latinos, December 14, 2012.