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Open enrollment presents a good opportunity for scammers as everyone’s rushing and confused about health insurance deadlines.
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Scammers impersonate legitimate entities through email, phone call, or text in order to obtain personal information from you or persuade you into acting quickly on their behalf.
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According to experts, any unsolicited contact by phone or text message should be verified before taking action. Don’t give anyone money to help you enroll and always use the official site.
Health insurance open enrollment has started, and many people are looking at different options for 2026. Scammers have taken advantage of this disorganization to perpetrate their scams against unsuspecting individuals.
Anyone who is not careful will fall victim, and you serve your data and money on a platter for fraudsters.
Why Scammers Love Open Enrollment
Experts say the very nature of open enrollment creates a perfect trap. There is a real deadline, which scammers mimic to create panic.
Periods of high stakes or urgency naturally attract fraudulent activity. People just want to ensure their healthcare is in place, making them vulnerable.
The process itself is also complicated. With Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace plans, it’s easy to get confused. Scammers offer simplistic solutions that are actually traps.
And one last thing, people receive and send lots of legitimate emails and calls concerning enrollment. Bad people will slip in their fake messages in this chaos in the hope that no one will notice the difference.
The Most Common Enrollment Scams Right Now
It’s important you know how to spot the fake and the real thing, so we’ve laid down all the top tricks fraudsters will try to use on you this season.
Phishing and Vishing
Someone might call, email, or text you, claiming to be from Medicare or HealthCare.gov, and it’ll look real. The message says your coverage is expiring or you need a new card. It demands you “re-verify” your Social Security or Medicare number immediately.
“Caller ID can lie,” warns healthcare researcher Sharon Auma-Ebanyat. It’s very rare for government agencies to call someone out of the blue requesting their personal details.
Fake Benefit Schemes
Many times, scammers also target Medicare recipients. It offers free gifts, screenings, or medical supplies. To get the “free” item, you just have to provide your Medicare ID number. “Don’t click any ads and freebies,” Auma-Ebanyat advises.
Other cons sell fake medical discount plans. They charge a monthly fee but provide no real insurance or doctor access.
Your Action Plan to Stay Safe
Open enrollment scams are real, but don’t shy away from enrolling because of them. Just be careful, and you’ll be fine when signing up.
The first and number one thing is to guard your personal information like a hen guards its chicks. On no account should you give out your Medicare ID, Social Security number, or bank details to a random caller.
If you pick up a call and it sounds suspicious, please hang up fast. Then, call back using the official number from your insurance card or a .gov website. Verify everything. “Never trust caller IDs,” Auma-Ebanyat stresses. This is especially critical as scammers are now using advanced spoofing techniques and information obtained from the dark web to create highly convincing fronts, even impersonating law enforcement to add pressure.
Only use the government’s official websites: Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov. Always check for “https://” and the “.gov” in the address. Beyond basic verification, you must also protect your online accounts where this sensitive data is stored. The FBI has recently issued warnings about highly sophisticated attacks that can bypass even two-factor authentication (2FA) to hijack email and other accounts. Help from the official Marketplace call center is always free. Never pay someone to help you enroll.
Watch for major red flags. Any demand for immediate action is a big warning sign. Be very wary of brokers who offer expensive signing-up gifts. Also, watch out for a newer trick: QR codes in emails.
Kamdjou notes that Medicare.gov won’t send you a QR code. It’s a trick fraudsters use to dodge your computer security filters.
Anything that feels off is probably off, and in that case, the best thing to do is pause for a second and verify. Keep in mind: even a person who is often very careful can be tricked. As Kamdjou says, “it happens to the best of us,” so if you happen to fall for any of their tricks, do not take it too personally.
