Scammers buy their way to the top of search results as Medicare enrollment opens

Federal regulators are warning that fraudulent websites and call centers impersonating Medicare are climbing to the top of search engine results, just as the government's annual enrollment window opened this week and put coverage decisions in front of tens of millions of older Americans. The Federal Trade Commission says scammers are now paying for sponsored search placement so that fake sign-up pages appear above the real Medicare.gov and HealthCare.gov, a tactic the agency flagged in a consumer alert issued ahead of this year's enrollment period and again in June.

Open enrollment, which runs from October 15 through December 7, is the one stretch each year when Medicare beneficiaries can switch between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, change prescription drug plans, or drop coverage altogether, with changes taking effect January 1. The window has long drawn fraud alongside legitimate marketing, but officials in Michigan, the AARP Fraud Watch Network and independent policy analysts say this year's version leans more heavily on counterfeit web pages and paid advertising designed to look official.

The numbers behind the warning

The scale of the enrollment decision itself is large. CMS projects that Medicare Advantage plans will cover roughly 34 million people in 2027, and the agency's premium projections released in September show the average Medicare Advantage premium falling from $14.37 a month in 2026 to roughly $12 in 2027, even as standalone Part D premiums are expected to rise modestly. Actual enrollment already runs higher than projections: CMS reported 36.1 million people in Medicare Advantage as of June, close to half of all Medicare beneficiaries. On October 8, the agency also released its 2027 star ratings for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, which beneficiaries use on Medicare's Plan Finder tool to compare quality; about 71 percent of plan enrollees are now in plans rated four stars or higher, while the number of lowest-rated contracts, those at 2.5 stars or below, rose to 32 from 23 the year before.

Fraud figures are large too. The FTC has estimated that health care fraud, errors and abuse cost taxpayers and consumers roughly $60 billion a year. Separately, as reporting on the current warning detailed, federal officials have pointed to a scheme in which Medicare paid out more than $4 billion for urinary catheters that were billed but never supplied to patients, prompting CMS to suspend payments to 15 medical equipment suppliers. Those cases illustrate how stolen Medicare numbers, not just stolen money, can translate into enormous fraudulent claims long after a single phone call or fake web form.

A recurring season, with a new wrinkle

Scam activity tied to Medicare's fall enrollment period is not new; state insurance regulators and the Senior Medicare Patrol network have issued seasonal warnings for years, typically centered on unsolicited phone calls asking for a Medicare number to send a "new" card. What officials say has changed, and what financial-literacy specialists have flagged as a widening risk, is the sophistication of the online approach. The FTC's alert describes look-alike sites that borrow government seals, color schemes and keywords, then surface through paid search advertising rather than relying solely on cold calls. Clicking through can lead to a plan that provides no real coverage, or to a data-harvesting operation that enables later identity theft and false billing.

Michigan's Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the state's health department issued a joint warning as the window opened, telling residents that legitimate Medicare contact rarely happens by surprise. Their guidance, echoed by federal agencies, includes several concrete flags that something is wrong:

• A caller or mailer says beneficiaries will lose coverage unless they act immediately or provide personal information on the spot.
• Someone claims Medicare is issuing a "new" card and needs a Medicare, bank or credit card number to send it, even though real replacement cards are mailed automatically and at no cost.
• A website or search ad resembles Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov but has a slightly different address, or is marked "Ad" or "Sponsored" rather than appearing as an organic result.
• A person claiming to be an "official Medicare agent" tries to sell coverage after contacting someone unprompted; Medicare itself has no sales representatives.

Who is affected, and what people are saying

Older adults comparing plans during the enrollment window are the direct targets, but the downstream effects can reach anyone who shares a Medicare number with the wrong party. A compromised number can be used to bill for equipment or services a beneficiary never received, which can trigger disputes with legitimate providers and even affect future coverage decisions if fraudulent claims appear in someone's records. Advocates also warn that confusion during enrollment has its own cost: switching from traditional Medicare into a Medicare Advantage plan without reviewing supplemental coverage can cause a beneficiary to lose a Medigap policy they cannot easily get back.

Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, put the stakes plainly in describing why these scams deserve more attention than ordinary financial fraud.

"Scams can cost not only financially but could put one's health care and health at risk."

Amy Nofziger of the AARP Fraud Watch Network advised treating any unexpected contact as suspect, telling beneficiaries to "be extremely cautious of anyone who contacts you unexpectedly and asks for your Medicare number." Ryan Ramsey of the National Council on Aging said callers behind these schemes "can sound very professional and persuasive over the phone," a reminder that tone and apparent authority are not proof of legitimacy. State regulators in Michigan framed their advice around a simple habit: hang up on any unexpected call referencing Medicare and dial 1-800-MEDICARE directly to confirm whether it was real.

What happens next

Open enrollment continues through December 7, meaning the window for both legitimate plan-shopping and opportunistic fraud remains open for roughly seven more weeks. The FTC, CMS and the Senior Medicare Patrol network held a joint roundtable in late September to coordinate outreach, and Medicare's own fraud-reporting guidance, updated this week, continues to direct beneficiaries who suspect fraud to call 1-800-MEDICARE or report online rather than respond to the original contact. The FTC separately directs complaints to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to state attorneys general.

Officials are not advising beneficiaries to avoid shopping for coverage. CMS's own data suggest real money is on the table this year, from lower projected Medicare Advantage premiums to a wider spread in plan quality ratings, which is itself an argument for comparing options carefully. The agencies' shared message is narrower: beneficiaries can safely compare plans by typing Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov directly into a browser, through a toll-free call to the government rather than a number from an email or search ad, or with free, one-on-one help from a State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselor or local Senior Medicare Patrol office. Coverage changes made during the window take effect January 1, giving beneficiaries until the first week of December to settle on a plan without, officials stressed, being rushed into one by a caller or webpage claiming otherwise.