Medicare scam and fake test kit sent to Granger woman

The Better Business Bureau is warning people about scammers trying to get at your personal information by offering test kits.

16 News Now tells us what happened when a woman in Granger found herself in the middle of one of these scams.

They said they were from Medicare, but when the caller started asking Granger resident Robbi Minden for personal information so they could ship her a test kit, Minden said she was skeptical.

"Last Friday, I received a package in the mail that had a test kit in it. I was a little surprised," Minden said.

That's when she did some research on what was inside to see if the people sending the kit was legit.

"I checked this address that's on here and it came to a Pro Webcast Production company. The company had been there for twenty years and five months but they're inactive, and the last time they had done anything was in 1999. It was requesting stuff that I would not allow anybody to have unless it was my personal physician," she said.

Minden says she thinks this was part of a scam for medicare fraud. The Better Business Bureau backed up her claim, saying that these types of scams are nothing new.

"This is an old scam that people are maybe taking the coronavirus to utilize and maybe breathe a little bit of new life into it, but medicare and insurance scams are very popular," said B.B.B. Northern Indiana Communication Director Nichole Thomas.

Thomas says it's important to never share your personal information with strangers.

If the call was about your medical information, reach out to your doctor first.

Also, do your research on the caller by looking up the phone number or any other identifying information they give you.

Minden didn't fall into their trap, but she says not everyone might be as aware as she was.

Reporting scammers is one of the best ways to stop them. You can report scams to the B.B.B., Attorney General's office, and you local law enforcement.