New Medicare cards are on their way to your mailbox soon, and they’ll start arriving in New Hampshire by this June, 2018.

Why is this important for us to note?

Scammers see this as a golden opportunity to call and tell you that you need to verify your medicare card or social security number, billing information, account number, and/or other personal information. They’ll also tell you that there is a fee for the delivery of your new Medicare card.

It is CRITICAL for you to know that your NEW Medicare card is FREE, and there WILL NEVER BE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER PRINTED ON THIS CARD EVER AGAIN.

What you’ll find instead is an 11-character Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) composed of numbers and uppercase letters. Each MBI number is randomly generated. Each character is also randomly generated. This transition is an important step in the prevention of Identity Theft, which is still the number 1 crime in the country.

Scammers will continue to try and persuade you to release your personal information but DON’T fall for the bait. Just remember that YOU DON’T NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION at all to receive your new card. As long as Medicare has your correct mailing address, you’re well on your way to automatically receiving your new card which will further PROTECT your personal information.

If you receive any suspicious calls which concern you, notify your local police department and let them know about it right away.