AFFINITY FRAUD - Fraud in which promoters target members of their own race, nationality or religious affiliation and exploit their status as members of the group to solicit investments in fraudulent schemes.
BOGUS INSURANCE - Bogus or “fake” insurance is insurance policy that does not exist and is manufactured by a con artist or unscrupulous insurance producer. Scam operators sell the phony insurance policies to the unsuspecting consumers and collect the premiums, but fail to pay medical providers.
CAPPERS - People who approach you on the street or knock on the door offering Medicare services.
CLEAN SHEETING - A fraudulent practice of making untrue, false deceptive or misleading statements or omitting material facts during the insurance policy application process.
DUMPSTER DIVING - When someone goes through the garbage in order to obtain personal information to be used in identity theft.
FREE LOOK - A feature of an insurance policy or investment that allows the purchaser to examine the contract for a specified time period with the option of requesting a full refund.
GYPSIES/TRAVELERS - Con artists who travel door-to-door and offer repair or other services then either provide shoddy work or do not complete the promised work.
IDENTITY THEFT - A crime in which a thief uses your name, social security number, credit card number, or some other identifying information without your permission to obtain money, goods, and/or services.
KEYSTROKE CATCHER - Someone who records all the information typed on a keyboard and then comes back to claim it and download the data.
MEDICARE FRAUD - This type of fraud is the intentional deception of misrepresentation which an individual knows to be false and know to be false and knows that the deception could result in an unauthorized benefit of Medicare.
PHISHING - A type of internet piracy in which thieves send out emails to obtain personal information such as account numbers, social security numbers, etc.
PONZI/PYRAMID - A scheme in which new investor funds are used to pay the old investors (and the promoters) with an investment that is either fraudulent or nonexistent. Initial investors typically realize tremendous rates of return of their money, which serves to “legitimize” the investment opportunity in the eyes of the new investors.
SKIMMING - An illegal practice of obtaining personal information under false pretenses. An example would include a dishonest cashier skimming your credit card number through a card reader.
SUITABILITY - Suitability means that the investment is in line with your investment objectives and financial situation. Your financial professional should not recommend an investment that exposes you to risk beyond what you can afford to lose.
UNLICENSED CONTRACTORS - Individuals who provide home improvement services home construction without a license from the Registrar of Contractors.
VIATICALS - A security that allows life insurance policyholders to “cash out” of their policies while they are still alive. Investors pay for the right to receive the future death benefits by purchasing an interest in the policies, usually through a viatical company. Considered a very risky investment.
WON THE LOTTERY - A notice that states how you are a potential “winner” of a foreign or domestic lottery, but in actuality is a scam that attempts to unlawfully obtain your personal information.
YOU PAY - The person who pays for Medicare Fraud is YOU! |
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