Medicare 2026

In Frisco? Here's What Fraudsters Really Want From Your Medicare Card

FRISCO, Texas — Scammers who target older adults aren't chasing your Social Security card anymore. They're after the string of numbers and letters on your red, white, and blue Medicare card — and in a fast-growing suburb like Frisco, where new residents are still settling in and setting up doctors, that card can slip into the wrong hands more easily than you'd think.

Medicare fraud costs the program billions each year, according to the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP), and it often starts with something small: a friendly phone call, a text about a "free" brace, a booth at a health fair. Once someone has your Medicare Number, they can bill Medicare for care you never got — and that can foul up your own records when you really do need treatment.

Here's what to know about protecting your number, and what to do if you think it's already out there.

Why your Medicare Number is a target

Your Medicare Number is the key to your benefits. To a fraudster, it's also the key to billing the federal government for wheelchairs, genetic tests, catheters, or "free" screenings you never asked for. Since 2018, Medicare cards use a random Medicare Beneficiary Identifier instead of your Social Security number — a real improvement — but the card is still valuable, and scams have simply shifted.

Common schemes today include:

• "Free" medical equipment offers by phone, text, or Facebook ad that ask for your Medicare Number to "confirm eligibility."
• Genetic or cancer screening booths at community events promising a no-cost cheek swab in exchange for your card.
• Fake Medicare representatives claiming they need to send you a new card, a plastic card, or a "2027 chip card." (Medicare is not issuing new cards.)
• Bogus enrollment help that pressures you to decide today or lose coverage.

Rules of thumb for guarding your card

A few simple habits stop most of these cold:

• Don't carry the card unless you need it. Bring it to a new doctor's visit, then put it back somewhere safe at home.
• Never give the number to someone who called you. Real Medicare doesn't cold-call to ask for it.
• Ignore "urgent" pressure. Anyone rushing you or threatening to cancel coverage is not from Medicare.
• Shred anything with the number on it before throwing it out — old summary notices, pharmacy paperwork, appointment reminders.
• Be careful on social media. Don't post photos of your card, even a corner of it.

What's new for 2027 — and why scammers may use it as bait

Medicare has some real changes taking effect in 2027, and fraudsters love to twist real news into a hook. A few facts worth knowing so you can spot the fakes:

• Part D has a $2,100 out-of-pocket cap on covered prescriptions in 2026.
• The Part D deductible cannot exceed $615.
• The old "donut hole" coverage gap was eliminated in 2025; there are now three payment phases.
• The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan lets you spread drug costs across the year in monthly bills — it's optional and free to join through your Part D plan.
• IRMAA income-related surcharges start above $109,000 for a single filer in 2026.

If someone calls claiming you owe a "new 2027 Medicare fee" or need to pay to activate the out-of-pocket cap, hang up. These program changes happen automatically. You don't buy them.

Enrollment periods are prime scam season

Two windows draw the most fraud calls each year:

• Annual Enrollment Period: October 15 – December 7, when people can change Part D or Medicare Advantage coverage.
• Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31, when those already in an Advantage plan can switch once.

Frisco sits in Collin County, where — like most metro counties in Texas — dozens of Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are offered by multiple carriers. That's a lot of choices, and scammers exploit the confusion. Legitimate agents can call you only if you've asked them to. They cannot show up at your door uninvited, and they cannot ask for your Medicare Number to "check what you qualify for."

How to check whether your number has been misused

Every three months, Medicare mails a Medicare Summary Notice (Original Medicare) or your Advantage plan sends an Explanation of Benefits. You can also log in at MyMedicare.gov to see claims within days.

Read them. Look for:

• Dates of service when you weren't at the doctor.
• Equipment or tests you never received.
• Providers you don't recognize.

Even a small "off" charge is worth a phone call. Billing errors happen, but so does theft, and only you can spot the difference.

If something looks wrong

You have three simple places to turn, all free:

• 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) for claim questions and to report fraud.
• Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) — trained counselors who help specifically with suspected fraud. Find your state office at smpresource.org.
• Texas SHIP (the state's State Health Insurance Assistance Program) for unbiased help with coverage questions. Find local counselors at shiphelp.org or through medicare.gov.

If you think your Medicare Number has been stolen, call 1-800-MEDICARE. In some cases, Medicare can issue a new number.