Free back or knee brace

Peter –

Victim Location 57104

Type of a scam Healthcare/Medicaid/Medicare

Hello, they called many times. Recorded, cold call. We always hung up. Apparently, once they got through to my family member who wrote their number down and later, called them back by mistake. The family member was trying to dial another number and dialed the wrong one by mistake, When it was answered, they immediately started asking questions. SSN, Medicare and measurements.

This website describes them, a known scam. <span title="https://medicareworld.com/2018/05/16/medicare-fraud-scam-offers-free-back-knee-braces-medicare/
https://medicareworld.com/2018/05/16/medicare-fraud-scam-offers-free-back-knee-b… />
Medicare Fraud Scam Offers Free Back or Knee Braces

Have you been offered a free knee brace from Medicare? Beware of this rampant scam that’s been going on. The scammers claim to be from Medicare or a medical warehouse, and some even say they were referred by your doctor or a caregiver. They ask for your Medicare number, and callers are pushy in trying to get your personal information. Some telemarketers will keep calling until they wear you down and you give in to whatever is being offered.

Here’s what happens

The back brace or knee brace that was billed as “free” is not free at all. Later, Medicare will be billed. Medicare gets a bill for the knee, back, or arm braces for thousands of dollars (each brace costs from $1,000 to $2,000), when in reality a back or knee brace costs far less than that.

Since Medicare receives over one billion claims per year, a live person only reviews about three percent of these claims. Medicare signs off on the claims and pays them.

You don’t know what you might get

Some callers asked for a back brace and received more than one, or received a back brace and two knee braces, or even more. To make matters worse, these braces are often low-quality and won’t last the 5 years it will take for Medicare to pay for a new one.

In the end, Medicare ends up getting charged for every item the person received. Overall, Medicare fraud costs American taxpayers $60 billion every year. Just on back braces, taxpayers spent nearly $108 million between 2010 and 2016.

We followed their recommended steps to mitigate the fraud risk and ID theft risk.

Thanks, Mary ***

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