IRON COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 24, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Iron County Sheriff’s Office is warning of a bizarre scam in which residents are being asked to provide a mouth swab, and are threatened that their insurance benefits will be cancelled if they do not do so.
“FRAUD SCAM ALERT: Please share with our aging population,” said a Facebook post from officials Thursday. “On Oct. 24, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office was notified of several fraud attempts. The subjects approach the victims at their home and represent themselves as an employee of Medicaid/Medicare services. The person then requested a buccal (mouth) swab from the victim and threatened them that their insurance benefits will be canceled unless they provide one.”
Along with the swab, they ask for personal identification information, such as a driver’s license and/or Social Security card.
The post added: “It is not the practice of the Medicaid/Medicare services to send a representative to your home or anywhere else and ask for a buccal swab. Do not provide any personal information and, if approached under these circumstances, call law enforcement immediately.”
Anyone who has been a victim of this scam is asked to call the Iron County Sheriff’s Office at 435-867-7500.
For a link to other senior scams click here.
