Posted: 5/16/06
Medicare scam artist making calls
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Senior citizens are urged to be on the alert for a scam artist working the Medicare Part D angle.
Diane Schuldt, a loan officer at Bank of the West in Caledonia, called The Argus on May 12 to say that the bank had closed the accounts of two people affected by the scam.
The two women were told that they had to buy a plastic card in order for Medicare Part D to work. The man said that the Medicare premium would be taken automatically take from their social security check, but in the meantime the man needed their bank account number.
ěAnd they gave it to them and then they feel awful because they know they shouldnít,î Schuldt said.
ěSo far it doesnít seem to be that nobodyís been ripped off,î Schuldt said.
Bonnie Goetzinger, who works with senior citizens at her job at the county human services department, has heard similar reports. The person tells the seniors that the card costs $379.
The deadline for signing up for Medicare Part D was May 15. ěThis is the perfect time for someone to run a scam,î Goetzinger said. ěThe elderly are very believing of a phone caller.î
Goetzinger notified the Loretto Apartments and Whispering Pines, two senior citizen housing complexes in Caledonia, about the scam. She told senior groups too.
Her message is simple: donít give out bank account numbers over the phone.
Caledonia Police Chief Randy Shefelbine said on May 12 that he was waiting to hear from the people who were contacted before he could start an investigation into the case.
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475
E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com