Why Medicare-Eligible Adults Face a Growing Risk of Identity Theft

Turning 65 often brings major financial and healthcare decisions. You may be enrolling in Medicare, comparing Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans, reviewing Social Security benefits, choosing prescription coverage and managing retirement accounts.

Unfortunately, this period of transition can also make older adults attractive targets for identity thieves and financial scammers.

Criminals know that Medicare-eligible individuals often have established credit, retirement savings, home equity, Social Security income and decades of personal information connected to financial and healthcare accounts. They also know that Medicare enrollment can involve legitimate calls, letters, emails and requests for personal information, making it easier for a fraudulent message to appear real.

The FBI reported that people age 60 and older submitted more than 201,000 fraud complaints in 2025 and reported losses exceeding $7.7 billion. The average reported loss among older victims was more than $38,000.

For Medicare beneficiaries, protecting personal information is no longer limited to watching a bank statement or shredding old documents. Modern identity theft can involve Medicare numbers, Social Security numbers, medical records, online accounts, credit applications, phone scams, email scams, stolen passwords and fraudulent changes to financial accounts.

This is why Medicare-eligible adults should consider adding identity theft protection to their broader retirement and insurance planning.

Learn more about available protection on the Plan Medicare Identity Theft Insurance page.

Why Are Seniors Frequently Targeted by Identity Thieves?

Identity thieves do not target older adults because seniors are less intelligent or less careful. They target them because older adults often have financial and personal characteristics that criminals find valuable.

Older adults may have more accumulated assets

Someone entering retirement may have access to:

• Retirement savings
• Investment accounts
• Pension income
• Social Security benefits
• Home equity
• Established credit
• Higher credit limits
• Long-standing banking relationships

A successful scam involving an older adult may therefore produce a larger financial return than a scam targeting someone with limited savings or credit.

Medicare creates another valuable personal identifier

A Medicare number is sensitive information. When combined with a name, date of birth, address or Social Security number, it may be used to commit medical identity theft, submit false claims, obtain medical equipment or impersonate a beneficiary.

Medicare beneficiaries may receive legitimate communications from insurance carriers, pharmacies, doctors, Medicare agents and government programs. Scammers take advantage of this by pretending to represent Medicare, Social Security, a health insurance company or a medical provider.

Seniors may receive more healthcare-related communications

People who use several doctors, pharmacies and insurance companies may receive frequent calls, statements, explanation-of-benefit notices and emails. This creates more opportunities for a fraudulent communication to blend in with legitimate healthcare activity.

A scammer may already know a person’s age, location, insurance carrier or medical condition because information was exposed through a data breach, purchased online or collected through public records.

Scammers use fear and urgency

Many scams targeting older adults are designed to prevent the victim from stopping to verify the story.

The caller may claim:

• Your Medicare benefits are about to be canceled.
• You need a new Medicare card immediately.
• Your Social Security number has been suspended.
• Your bank account has been compromised.
• Your computer has been hacked.
• A family member has been arrested or injured.
• You owe money to a government agency.
• You must move your savings to a “safe” account.
• You must provide personal information to continue receiving benefits.

The scammer may demand immediate payment or insist that the victim keep the conversation secret.

Legitimate government agencies do not require payment through gift cards, cryptocurrency, cash deliveries or wire transfers to protect an account or avoid arrest.

The Connection Between Medicare and Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses another person’s information to receive medical care, obtain prescription drugs, purchase medical equipment or submit fraudulent insurance claims.

For Medicare beneficiaries, medical identity theft can create serious problems beyond financial loss.

Fraudulent medical activity may result in:

• Services appearing on a Medicare Summary Notice that you never received
• Medical equipment being billed in your name
• Prescription records that do not belong to you
• Incorrect information appearing in a medical record
• Confusion about actual coverage or benefit limits
• Collection notices for unfamiliar medical bills
• Delays while fraudulent claims are investigated
• Personal information being sold to additional criminals

Beneficiaries should review Medicare Summary Notices and insurance explanations of benefits carefully. A claim for an unfamiliar service, doctor, medical device or location should not be ignored.

Report suspicious Medicare activity to 1-800-MEDICARE and consider contacting the Senior Medicare Patrol program for assistance.

Medicare Phone Scams Are Becoming More Convincing

Traditional scam calls were often easier to identify because of poor grammar, unusual accents, unrealistic promises or obviously fake caller identification.

Technology has changed that.

Scammers can now use artificial intelligence, caller-ID spoofing and information gathered from data breaches to create highly personalized Medicare scams. A caller may know your name, age, insurance carrier, doctor, medication or geographic location.

They may use this information to create the impression that they are calling from a legitimate healthcare organization.

Common Medicare-related phone scams include:

The new Medicare card scam

The caller says Medicare is issuing a new plastic, digital or updated card and asks you to verify your Medicare number, Social Security number or banking information.

The free medical equipment scam

The caller offers free braces, genetic tests, glucose monitors or other equipment. The goal may be to obtain your Medicare information and bill the program for unnecessary products.

The canceled benefits scam

The scammer claims your Medicare or Social Security benefits will be suspended unless you immediately confirm personal information or make a payment.

The fake insurance review

The caller pretends to be reviewing your coverage but is actually collecting personal information or attempting to enroll you in something without proper authorization.

The compromised account scam

The caller claims your identity has been stolen and instructs you to transfer money, provide remote computer access or share verification codes.

Never provide a Medicare number, Social Security number, banking password or one-time security code to an unexpected caller.

Older Adults Are Experiencing Larger Fraud Losses

Older adults do not necessarily report fraud more frequently than younger adults in every category. However, when older adults lose money, the losses can be significantly larger.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that fraud losses reported by adults age 60 and older increased from approximately $600 million in 2020 to approximately $2.4 billion in 2024.

The FTC also identified a sharp increase in older adults reporting losses of $10,000 or more to business and government impersonation scams. Losses exceeding $100,000 have risen especially quickly.

These losses can be devastating during retirement.

A younger person may have decades to rebuild savings. A retired individual may have limited income, fewer opportunities to return to work and higher healthcare expenses. Money stolen from a retirement account can affect housing, medical care and long-term financial security.

Why Credit Monitoring Alone May Not Be Enough

Credit monitoring can be helpful, but not every type of identity theft appears on a credit report.

A criminal may:

• Take over an existing bank account
• Redirect mail
• Use a Medicare number
• File a fraudulent tax return
• Access an email account
• Open a phone or utility account
• Apply for a payday loan
• Use medical information
• Compromise a social media account
• Steal passwords
• Impersonate the victim online
• Change an account address or phone number

A more comprehensive identity theft protection service may monitor multiple areas, including credit files, the dark web, public records, financial accounts, high-risk applications and address changes.

Explore the monitoring and restoration features available through Plan Medicare’s Identity Theft Insurance resource.

What Does Identity Theft Protection Provide?

Identity theft protection services vary, so it is important to review the actual plan features rather than choosing a service based only on price.

IDShield offers identity monitoring, cybersecurity tools, live support and restoration assistance for individuals and families.

Features may include:

Dark web monitoring

Dark web monitoring searches online sources for personal information that may have been exposed, stolen, traded or shared.

This may include email addresses, account credentials and other personally identifiable information.

Credit monitoring

Depending on the selected plan, IDShield may provide one-bureau or three-bureau credit monitoring, hard inquiry alerts, credit threat alerts and credit score tracking.

Credit monitoring can provide an earlier warning when someone attempts to open an account or apply for credit in your name.

Financial account monitoring

Members can connect eligible financial accounts and receive alerts for certain withdrawals, transfers or purchases above a selected threshold.

Public-record and address monitoring

Public-record, court-record and address-change monitoring may help detect activity that does not immediately appear on a credit report.

High-risk application monitoring

Monitoring may include payday loans, telecom accounts, subprime applications and other transactions that are sometimes associated with identity fraud.

Cybersecurity tools

IDShield includes digital security tools such as:

• Malware protection
• A virtual private network
• Password management
• Privacy tools
• Social media monitoring
• Online reputation monitoring

These tools can help reduce everyday exposure while using computers, mobile devices and public Wi-Fi networks.

Why Full-Service Identity Restoration Matters

Monitoring can alert you to potential fraud, but an alert does not automatically solve the problem.

Victims may need to communicate with:

• Banks
• Credit card companies
• Credit bureaus
• Insurance carriers
• Medicare
• Social Security
• Healthcare providers
• Collection agencies
• Government agencies
• Law enforcement
• Utility and telephone companies
• Online platforms

Each organization may require different documentation, affidavits, police reports and follow-up.

IDShield provides access to dedicated licensed private investigators who assist with full-service identity restoration. Instead of simply receiving a checklist, members can get help completing the steps required to restore their identity to its pre-theft status, subject to the membership terms.

The service also includes live member support and 24/7 emergency assistance.

This can be particularly valuable for an older adult who feels overwhelmed by technology, has difficulty navigating multiple organizations or does not have a family member available to help.

Review the available plans and membership details directly through the IDShield identity protection page.

Identity Theft Protection Can Help Families Support Aging Parents

Adult children often help parents manage Medicare, medical bills, online banking, prescriptions and insurance documents.

Identity theft protection can add another layer of support by providing alerts and a professional resource to contact when something looks suspicious.

Family members should also discuss basic fraud-prevention rules with aging parents:

• Do not provide personal information to unexpected callers.
• Do not click links in unsolicited texts or emails.
• Do not allow an unknown caller to access a computer remotely.
• Do not move money based on instructions from an unexpected caller.
• Do not pay government agencies with gift cards or cryptocurrency.
• Do not share one-time security codes.
• Call a trusted family member before acting on an urgent request.
• Verify organizations using a phone number from an official website or statement.
• Review bank, credit card, Medicare and insurance statements regularly.
• Use strong, unique passwords and multifactor authentication.

These conversations should be respectful. The goal is not to take away independence. It is to create a plan before a stressful situation occurs.

Is Identity Theft Protection Worth It for Seniors?

Identity theft protection cannot guarantee that fraud will never occur. No monitoring service can stop every data breach, scam call or criminal attempt.

The value comes from having several protections working together:

• Monitoring across multiple sources
• Timely alerts
• Credit and financial account visibility
• Dark web monitoring
• Cybersecurity tools
• Professional guidance
• Emergency support
• Full-service identity restoration

For Medicare-eligible adults, the potential consequences of identity theft can extend beyond a fraudulent purchase. It can affect retirement savings, Social Security, Medicare records, medical care, credit and long-term financial stability.

Someone with significant online activity, multiple financial accounts, Medicare coverage, retirement assets or prior exposure in a data breach may find identity theft protection particularly valuable.

Protecting Your Healthcare Should Include Protecting Your Identity

Medicare planning is about protecting your access to care and controlling future healthcare costs. But comprehensive retirement planning should also consider the personal information connected to Medicare, Social Security, banking and insurance accounts.

A Medicare plan protects your healthcare coverage. Identity theft protection helps protect the personal and financial information surrounding that coverage.

Plan Medicare now offers access to information about identity theft monitoring, cybersecurity tools and full-service restoration support through IDShield.

Learn more about how identity theft protection works on the Plan Medicare Identity Theft Insurance page.

When you are ready to review individual and family protection options, visit the IDShield plan page.

Take the Next Step

Identity theft is easier to address when you have monitoring and professional support in place before a problem occurs.

Explore your options today:

• Learn more about identity theft insurance through Plan Medicare
• View IDShield identity protection plans

Plan features, pricing and availability may vary. Review the membership agreement for applicable terms, limitations and exclusions. Identity monitoring cannot prevent every form of identity theft or fraud.