How can people protect themselves and their loved ones from health insurance fraud?

The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from health insurance fraud is to be patient. Like most fraud schemes, the scammers will create an urgency for you to react immediately. Don’t. Take your time and think it through before doing anything.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says to do the following:

- If someone claiming to be from your insurance company or Medicare asks for your personal information, hang up.
- Never give personal information to a caller claiming to be affiliated with your insurance company or Medicare.
- Report the call to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recommends checking your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) regularly to ensure that the dates, locations and services billed match what you actually received.