I just had the same call regarding my father's meter. We get a lot of calls from suppliers offering a free updated meter and thought this was the same. The caller denied she was with a supplier and stated she was with a Diabetic Outreach group funded by medicare to make sure diabetics were supplied with updated meters. I asked several times who funded her group and was told they were funded by Medicare and that is how she got my fathers name. Also there would be no charge to my father or his insurance, she emphasized this was an outreach program and not a supplier. It sounded plausible and the device was enticing so I agreed to let her send the device. We verified address and phone number (pubic information) and everything seemed ok. However, she then asked for my father's medicare information and red flags came up. First as stated in previous comments, the medicare number contains the social security number and should not be given out unless you are 100% sure of who you are dealing with. She stated she needed the number to verify he has medicare, but if his name was provided by Medicare for an outreach program then wouldn't that be enough verification? I was not comfortable so arranged for her to call back next week to give me time to research the company (told her I didn't have the card and she would have to call back next week). After she hung up, I researched the company and, as expected, it is a diabetic supplier. However, I also tried to call the number that appeared on the caller ID (a cell number) and received a recording that it was not a working number. This is the clincher for me. In all fairness, the company name she provided appears legit however the call itself was deceptive to say the least. This emphasizes the need to protect your information regardless of how good the offer may be or how nice the person may sound.
This happened to a friend of mine. She doesnt have internet access, so I am posting this for her. She received a call from what showed on the caller ID as a wireless caller with the above phone number. They said they wanted to send her a new Blood Sugar Testing Device that did NOT require any blood to get a reading. They then asked for her Medicare Card number which is also her SSN. They also gave a contact phone number (855) 436-2189, which is not a valid phone number. I believe this to be a scam.
I just had the same call regarding my father's meter. We get a lot of calls from suppliers offering a free updated meter and thought this was the same. The caller denied she was with a supplier and stated she was with a Diabetic Outreach group funded by medicare to make sure diabetics were supplied with updated meters. I asked several times who funded her group and was told they were funded by Medicare and that is how she got my fathers name. Also there would be no charge to my father or his insurance, she emphasized this was an outreach program and not a supplier. It sounded plausible and the device was enticing so I agreed to let her send the device. We verified address and phone number (pubic information) and everything seemed ok. However, she then asked for my father's medicare information and red flags came up. First as stated in previous comments, the medicare number contains the social security number and should not be given out unless you are 100% sure of who you are dealing with. She stated she needed the number to verify he has medicare, but if his name was provided by Medicare for an outreach program then wouldn't that be enough verification? I was not comfortable so arranged for her to call back next week to give me time to research the company (told her I didn't have the card and she would have to call back next week). After she hung up, I researched the company and, as expected, it is a diabetic supplier. However, I also tried to call the number that appeared on the caller ID (a cell number) and received a recording that it was not a working number. This is the clincher for me. In all fairness, the company name she provided appears legit however the call itself was deceptive to say the least. This emphasizes the need to protect your information regardless of how good the offer may be or how nice the person may sound.
I received 4 calls from this number between 2:57 PM and 4:31 PM. Didn't answer any of them, and there was no message left. I generally do not answer callers outside my own area code who I either don't recognize or who have no more meaningful a caller ID name than "Cell Phone KY" (that was what this one was). I will almost always return a call when a message is left, but these types of callers never do that. I just went on my phone company's call screening site and added this number to the list so that I won't be bothered.
Same sales pitch. Calling on Medicare people and when I told her mine was only a year old she said many changes have been made in the last year. When she asked for my doctor's name and the numbers on my red. white and blue card I received from medicare I asked her why since she had told me she had received my name from Medicare she said it was needed to verify I was in fact on Medicare. Then told her I was uneasy with this call and I was very happy with the equipment I now have.
She did hang up.