February 16, 2006
Seniors on Social Security might be expected to be easily confused there have been lots of news reports about proposed Social Security reforms and a new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
So scammers in the northeast are targeting seniors pretending to be from an imaginary outfit called the National Social Security Service.
A telemarketer contacts a senior and tells them the service is offering a new service lifetime Medicare coverage. The cost is a one-time fee of $295.
It might sound like a good deal to some, but police say it's too good to be true. It's nothing but a scam.
Faith Emond, a senior contacted by the scammer, didn't fall for it but is concerned some of her peers might. She told WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut, that she made up fliers and put them on bulletin boards around town, where other seniors would see them.
Hartford Police say there is no National Social Security Service.