Medicare Open Enrollment Scams 2026: Calls, Texts and How to Stay Safe

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, 2026. For the next eight weeks, millions of people over 65 will review their health and drug plans. Scammers know this calendar as well as you do, and they are already calling.

I run The Scam Exposed, and every fall our inbox fills with the same story told in different words. A friendly caller says they are "from Medicare." They say your card is outdated, your benefits are about to change, or you qualify for extra money for groceries, dental and vision. Then they ask for one small thing: your Medicare number "to verify your file."

That single number is what they are after. With it, a criminal can bill Medicare for equipment, lab tests and services you never got. This guide shows you the numbers behind this fraud, the exact scripts callers use, how to tell a real Medicare contact from a fake one, and what to do if you already shared your details.

Medicare and senior fraud by the numbers

Before we look at the scripts, it helps to see how big this problem really is. These figures come from the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and the HHS Office of Inspector General.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported more than $20.9 billion in total losses in 2025, and older adults carried the heaviest share. People in their 30s and 40s reported $4.6 billion. People 60 and over reported $7.7 billion. The FTC saw the same pattern, with people 50 and older reporting $4.3 billion in losses in 2025.

These are only the losses people reported. Most victims never file a report, either because they feel embarrassed or because they never notice the fraud. Medicare billing fraud is especially quiet. The money is taken from the Medicare Trust Fund, not from your bank account, so many people only find out when a claim shows up on a statement or when a real doctor's claim is denied because "you already got that device."

Why scammers want your Medicare number

Your Medicare number, called a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier, is an 11 character code made of numbers and capital letters. Since 2018, it no longer contains your Social Security number. That change helped, but it did not end the problem. A Medicare number on its own is still enough for a dishonest company to submit claims in your name.

Here is what a criminal can do with it:

• Bill for equipment you never asked for. Back braces, knee braces, wheelchairs, catheters and glucose monitors are common. In Operation Gold Rush, prosecutors say a network billed Medicare for urinary catheters that patients never needed or received, with an alleged loss of $10.6 billion.
• Bill for lab tests. Genetic and cancer screening tests can be billed at thousands of dollars each.
• Bill for telehealth visits that never happened. A fake "doctor" signs an order without ever seeing you.
• Switch your plan. Some dishonest sellers enroll people into plans they did not choose, so they can collect a commission.
• Sell your details. Your name, age, phone and Medicare number go onto lists that are sold to other scam groups, which means more calls.

The harm to you is real even if no money leaves your bank. Your medical record can fill with false diagnoses. A future claim for a device you truly need can be denied because Medicare thinks you already have one. And once your number is on a scam list, the calls rarely stop.

The 7 Medicare scams you will hear about this fall

Every year the details change a little, but the same basic plays come back. These are the ones consumer groups, Senior Medicare Patrol teams and our own readers report most often.

What the call actually sounds like

A recording captured by the call blocking service Nomorobo during the 2025 enrollment season shows how smooth these calls are. The caller introduced herself as being from "Medicare Services," talked about helping people maximize dental, vision and grocery benefits, and then asked the listener to confirm they had Part A and Part B. That last question is the hinge. Once you say yes, the next step is "let me just verify your Medicare number."

Below is a typical call, rebuilt from reports we have received. The words change, but the order almost never does.

Notice what is missing. The caller never names a specific plan, never gives a company name you can look up, and never offers to let you call back through the number on your card. Real licensed agents must tell you who they work for. Real Medicare staff do not cold call you to sell benefits at all.

The 2026 enrollment calendar, and when scams peak

Knowing the real dates is one of your best defenses. A caller who invents a deadline that does not match this calendar is lying.

1. By September 30Your current plan mails your Annual Notice of Change. It lists any changes to costs, coverage and drug lists for 2027.
2. October 1Plans can start marketing for 2027. Ads and calls jump. This is when our reports begin to climb.
3. October 15Open Enrollment begins. You can switch between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, change plans, or join a drug plan.
4. Late October to early NovemberThe 2027 Part B premium is usually announced. Expect "your premium is going up, call now" scam calls around this news.
5. December 7Open Enrollment ends. Watch for "last chance" pressure calls in the final week.
6. January 1New coverage starts. Scams shift to "your new card" and billing tricks.
7. January 1 to March 31Medicare Advantage members get one more chance to switch plans or go back to Original Medicare.

A real case: when one phone call becomes a billion dollar scheme

In June 2025, the Department of Justice announced its largest health care fraud takedown ever. It charged 324 defendants, including 96 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other licensed professionals, in schemes with more than $14.6 billion in intended losses.

The biggest piece was Operation Gold Rush. Prosecutors allege a network bought medical supply companies, then used the stolen identities and medical data of more than 1 million Americans to bill Medicare for urinary catheters and other supplies. The alleged loss in that case alone was $10.6 billion. CMS says it stopped more than $4 billion in payments before they went out, and authorities seized more than $245 million in cash, cars, crypto and other assets.

How do criminals collect a million identities? Some come from data breaches. Many come from exactly the kind of call described above. Each person who "verifies" their Medicare number for a friendly caller adds one more row to a list that can be sold, reused and billed again and again.

Smaller cases follow the same pattern. People are offered a free genetic test at a health fair or by phone. They swab their cheek, mail the kit, and never hear about results. Months later, their Medicare statement shows a lab charge of several thousand dollars. The HHS Office of Inspector General has issued repeated consumer alerts about genetic testing fraud for this reason.

Red flags: how to spot a fake Medicare contact

• They contacted you first. Medicare does not cold call to sell plans or benefits. Plans and agents can only call you if you asked them to.
• They ask for your Medicare number, Social Security number or bank details. Medicare already has this information.
• They create a deadline. "Today only" or "your benefits end Friday" is pressure, not policy.
• They offer something free. Free braces, tests, gift cards or groceries in exchange for your number is a classic hook.
• They talk about a "new" or "gold" card. Medicare cards are paper, free, and not being reissued this fall.
• They will not say which company they work for. Or they use vague names like "Medicare Services" or "Senior Benefits Department."
• Caller ID says "Medicare" or a government number. Caller ID can be faked easily. It proves nothing.
• They say a doctor will "approve" the order. Your own doctor should order tests and equipment after examining you.
• A text has a link to "claim" a kit or log in. Go to Medicare.gov yourself instead of tapping any link.

Real Medicare contact vs scam: side by side

How to shop for a plan safely this fall

You do not have to avoid Open Enrollment to stay safe. You just need to start every contact yourself, using sources you trust.

1. Read your Annual Notice of Change first. If nothing important changed and you are happy with your plan, you do not have to do anything.
2. Use the official Plan Finder. Go to Medicare.gov Plan Compare by typing the address yourself.
3. Get free, unbiased help from SHIP. Every state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program with trained counselors who do not sell plans. Find yours at shiphelp.org.
4. Call 1-800-MEDICARE. The number is 1-800-633-4227, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except some federal holidays.
5. If you use an agent, check their license. Ask for their full name, company and license number, then verify it with your state insurance department.
6. Never sign up during a call you did not start. Say "send it to me in writing," then hang up.

Protect yourself before the calls start

1. Treat your Medicare card like a credit card. Do not carry it unless you have an appointment, and never post a photo of it.
2. Set up a Medicare.gov account. You can review claims online as they come in, instead of waiting for paper statements.
3. Read every Medicare Summary Notice. Look for providers you never saw, equipment you never got and dates that do not match your visits.
4. Turn on call filtering. Use your carrier's free spam blocking and silence unknown callers on your phone.
5. Register on the Do Not Call list. It will not stop criminals, but it does mean a legal company calling you is breaking the rules. That is a useful signal.
6. Agree on a family rule. No one in the family shares a Medicare or Social Security number on a call they did not make. Print our scam warning card and keep it by the phone.
7. Look up the number. Before you call anyone back, check the number in our robocall checker to see if others reported it.

Already shared your Medicare number? Do this now

Do not panic. Sharing your number is fixable, especially if you act quickly.

1. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Tell them you shared your number with a scammer. If there is evidence of misuse, Medicare can issue a new number.
2. Check your claims. Log in to Medicare.gov or call to review recent claims. Report anything you do not recognize.
3. Contact your Senior Medicare Patrol. SMP teams help people spot and report Medicare fraud for free. In 2024, SMP projects across the country had 283,724 one on one interactions with beneficiaries and helped recover more than $35 million. Find yours at smpresource.org or 1-877-808-2468.
4. Report to the HHS Office of Inspector General. Use oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud or call 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477).
5. If you gave bank or card details, call your bank now. Ask them to block the card, watch the account and reverse any charges you did not make.
6. If you gave your Social Security number, place a free credit freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
7. Report the call to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you are 60 or older, the National Elder Fraud Hotline is free at 1-833-372-8311.
8. Refuse any equipment or kits you did not order. Do not open them. Mark them "return to sender" and report the company.

You can also report the number to us. Your report helps the next person who looks it up.

Frequently asked questions

How we researched this article

This guide uses figures from the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center 2025 report and FTC Consumer Sentinel 2025 data as summarized by AARP, the Department of Justice 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown as reported by Becker's Hospital Review, the HHS Office of Inspector General report on 2024 Senior Medicare Patrol performance, enrollment dates published by Medicare and Kiplinger, Scripps News reporting from August 2026 and a call recording published by Nomorobo. The sample call script is rebuilt from reports sent to The Scam Exposed and is shown as an example, not a transcript. We are not affiliated with Medicare or any insurance company, and this article is not legal or financial advice. Last reviewed October 9, 2026 by Nitesh Kumar Gupta, Founder and Editor.