(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Medicare sign-up period is once again underway, and that means scams related to Medicare are making a come back. The Atlantic Police Department, Tuesday, issued a warning to residents about a Medicare scam, whereby the person calling pretends to be with Medicare and already has the name and phone number of the potential victim. The caller then reads off a Medicare number for the potential victim to verify. A-PD says “This is a bogus number and they ask you to read them your actual Medicare number.”

The scammer threatens the potential victims’ Medicare will be denied if you don’t provide them with the number. “The caller has been trying to use these scare tactics to get your personal information,” according to Chief Dave Erickson. “They tell the potential victim that they need to replace their current paper card with a plastic card with a magnetic strip.”

Erickson warns “Do not give out any personal information over the phone or computer.”