Beware of scammers during health care open enrollment period

Salt Lake City, Utah — The majority of Utahns will soon be choosing their healthcare coverage during open enrollment, which means scammers trying to steal information and money can take advantage of this.

Scammers posing as insurance company personnel are being reported, according to Select Health, an insurance provider in Utah.

“We are seeing significant attacks in healthcare,” said Matt Christensen, director of cybersecurity at Select Health. “It does happen around open enrollment.”

He claims that con artists prey on their victims, many of whom are old, by instilling dread, uncertainty, and doubt.

According to the FBI, older adults lost $1.7 billion in 2021 as a result of fraud and scams.

It is advised for people who get shady calls or emails to take a breath and not freak out.

“If it’s a phone call, hang up,” Christensen said. “Then go look up the insurance carrier and call their customer service line.”

Additionally, he recommends people not to click any links in messages or reply to any strange emails or texts.

Many people have the innate tendency to believe the calls or emails they receive. Scammers will take advantage of that impulse, claims Christensen.

Anyone who receives a questionable call is advised to assume that it is fraudulent.

“Right now, you just have to assume, it wasn’t expected, if it’s asking you to do something urgently or it’s inducing fear like ‘we are going to put your grandson in jail’ or ‘ we are going to cancel your benefits,’ that’s where those triggers need to go off in your mind,” Christensen said.

Select Health will never threaten, intimidate, or harass someone, he adds.

Christensen advises anyone who receives a communication from a person posing as a Select Health employee to get in touch with the business so they can look into it.