Alerts for Medicare and Jury Duty scams

Medicare Scam Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig is warning residents to be aware of fraudulent telephone calls from people posing as federal government employees concerning Medicare. Beneficiaries are getting calls from scammers telling them their new Medicare card will arrive between April and June, which is true. However, they go on to state beneficiaries must first buy a temporary card for $5 to $50 and provide personal information before they receive their new Medicare card. This is not true. You do not have to pay anything for your new card. Medicare will not call beneficiaries about the new card or number. New Medicare cards will be mailed directly to beneficiaries at the address on file with Social Security. If beneficiaries need to update their mailing address, they can go to https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ or call 800-772-1213. If you or someone you know becomes aware of Medicare related phone scams, please call the Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-855-613-7080. If you need help with your Medicare, call the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) at 1-800-434-0222 or visit https://cahealthadvocates.org/. Jury Duty Scam Reisig is also warning residents to be aware of fraudulent telephone calls from people posing as law enforcement or the Yolo County Superior Court claiming that you missed your jury duty summons. In the current scheme, the scammers’ claim that an arrest warrant has been issued by local law enforcement for missing a jury duty summons, and that you will be arrested unless you immediately pay a fine. The caller sounds very official and has even falsely represented himself as a Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office stated that multiple citizens have been receiving phone calls from individuals who are representing themselves as Sheriff’s Office employees. In the past community members have sent money to these anonymous scammers and recovering these funds has proven very difficult. The official sounding “Jury Summons Warrant” is designed to frighten recipients into responding quickly when they are upset and not thinking clearly. As with most scams, the con artists are either trying to scare the victim into “wiring” money or going out to purchase prepaid cards to transfer the money. These scammers are also trying to obtain personal information like a Social Security or credit card number. The Yolo County Superior Courts will always notify citizens by US mail of any violations they might have regarding their jury summons. The Courts do not issue bench warrants for failure to appear for a jury summons. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office declared that they will never call and request personal or financial information, request payment for any warrants or missed jury duty summons. Sheriff’s Deputies will never make phone calls demanding such information.]]>