On Your Side: Department of Justice warns Medicare recipients in the Ozarks of data breach

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - The Department of Justice is warning Medicare recipients regarding a data breach.

Gary Ewing received the letter this week. He noticed some of the information the letter referenced wasn’t included. He was not the only one in his family to receive a similar type of letter, but according to Ewing, not everyone he knows who has Medicare received a letter warning of a data breach.

In addition, when he went to the website listed in the letter, he said it showed a warning telling him that the site was involved in a data breach and to leave it immediately. Ewing is concerned about the many scams and attempts to take someone’s personal information.

“My concerns are they have the information they could use. I don’t know if it has anything to do with it, but the same day with Sears, I had to cancel my credit card there because there was an unauthorized use. At the same time, I got a letter to tell me they had discontinued the fraudulent claim or gotten rid of it. This shows up in the mail.”

I contacted the United States Department of Justice, and a spokesperson told me that the letter was legitimate and was sent by the DOJ’s Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys on or around April 4.

“In May 2023, Greylock McKinnon & Associates (GMA) notified the Department of Justice about the breach of personally identifiable information on GMA’s systems, after which the Department required that Greylock identify those affected and immediately began its own process to address the breach. While the Justice Department is unaware of any specific reports of identity theft or other fraud resulting from this incident, the Department has ensured that those impacted have been offered fraud resolution services and credit monitoring. The investigation of this matter is ongoing,” says Wyn Hornbuckle, Deputy Director, Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice.

If you have received a letter like this and have questions about it, you can contact the Department of Justice at 1-844-979-6702 for more information.

“So, if you are worried, you are nervous about your information about what is going on, take a deep breath, slow down, and know it is not the end of the world,” says Hannah Scott, a Care Coordinator with Senior Age in Springfield.

Senior Age works with the Senior Community on a variety of issues, and one of them is helping people protect themselves from their personal information getting out.

“If you get a letter you do not recognize. If you get a call, you do not recognize and it is from places like Medicaid/Medicare, any government agency, hang up the phone and call that company directly, do not stay on the phone with someone if you are not truly certain it is them,” says Scott.

Hannah Scott says the best thing to do if you are uncertain is to seek help from places like Senior Age.

“Finding someone who can anchor you, being able to help point you in the right direction is going to be the best thing,” says Scott.

In addition, besides credit monitoring, a better, proactive way to fight ID theft is to freeze your credit. This stops a new line of credit in your name so scammers won’t have a chance.

You can freeze by going to each of the credit bureau’s websites. This is a great option if you do not plan to buy a home or car or take out a loan anytime soon.

You can make a walk-in appointment with Senior Age in Springfield Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Senior Age also offers a text alert program to help seniors stay up to date with scams. You can also reach Senior Age by calling 1-417-862-0762 or visiting their website by clicking here.

If you have given money to a scammer, you can call the State Hotline Number at 1-800-392-0210.

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