Scam alert · September 29, 2026
The First Health Plan in Your Search Results May Be an Ad
The FTC warns that health insurance scams rise around Open Enrollment. Learn how to avoid lookalike sites, misleading ads, and medical identity theft.
Read this in five minutes. Then talk about it with someone you care about.
You search for Medicare or health insurance. The first result looks official, uses familiar language, and offers a phone number for immediate help.
That top position can feel like an endorsement. It is not.
In a September 28 consumer alert, the Federal Trade Commission warned that health-insurance scams often increase around Open Enrollment for Medicare and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Scammers and dishonest businesses may pay to appear near the top of search results. They also build web addresses and pages that resemble Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov.
A consumer who follows the ad may be sold a product that is not health insurance or may give away personal information that can be used for medical identity theft.
The dangerous part is that the person is not doing anything reckless. They are trying to complete a responsible, necessary task.
Why the search result feels trustworthy
Search engines place paid results above many ordinary results. The small “Ad” or “Sponsored” label can be easy to overlook, especially on a phone.
The page may use government-style colors, official-looking seals, words such as “Medicare,” “Marketplace,” or “benefits,” and a phone number staffed by someone who sounds helpful. The representative may already know the caller's name, age, or location.
Health coverage is also complicated. Plans, deadlines, subsidies, networks, and prescription benefits can make people eager for a guide. A dishonest seller can use that confusion to rush someone into sharing a Medicare number, Social Security number, birth date, banking information, or credit-card details.
The family member may believe they are comparing plans when they are actually entering a sales funnel controlled by an impersonator or misleading business.
Warning signs to notice
Slow down when a website, caller, or “benefits adviser”:
- Appears in a sponsored search result but presents itself as the official government service.
- Uses a web address that resembles an official site but does not end in
.gov. - Calls unexpectedly and asks for a Medicare number, Social Security number, bank information, or payment.
- Says coverage, benefits, or eligibility will disappear unless you act immediately.
- Promises free medical equipment, cash, gifts, or unusually generous benefits in exchange for personal information.
- Refuses to provide plan details in writing or makes it difficult to compare coverage, costs, and provider networks.
- Says you must pay to keep Medicaid or CHIP coverage or qualify for Marketplace coverage.
- Pressures you to complete enrollment before speaking with a family member or independent counselor.
Not every advertisement is fraudulent. The point is that an ad is not verification.
The 60-second defense
Give your family this rule:
For Medicare or Marketplace coverage, we type the official address ourselves and never begin with a sponsored link.
For Medicare, go directly to Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). For Marketplace plans, use HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596. Look carefully for the .gov ending.
Do not use a phone number from an unexpected ad, email, text, or social-media message. If someone contacts you first, end the conversation and restart it through an official channel.
Families do not have to compare plans alone. Medicare beneficiaries can get free, personalized counseling through their State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known as SHIP. Marketplace shoppers can use the “Find Local Help” feature on HealthCare.gov.
Taking an extra day to verify is safer than allowing artificial urgency to choose a health plan.
Protect the Medicare number
Medicare advises people to protect their Medicare number like a credit card. Share it only with health-care providers, insurers or health plans, licensed agents or brokers, trusted people who work with Medicare, or someone the beneficiary has authorized.
Medicare says it will not call uninvited and ask for personal or private information. If someone calls asking for information or money, or threatens to cancel health benefits, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE.
Review Medicare claims and insurance statements for services or equipment that were never received. An unfamiliar claim may be an early sign that personal information is being misused.
If information or money was already shared
Contact Medicare, the Marketplace, the health plan, and any affected financial institution through verified contact information. Ask what accounts or identifiers need to be secured. If a Social Security number or other identity information was exposed, use IdentityTheft.gov to build a recovery plan.
Save the advertisement, website address, emails, texts, caller information, enrollment documents, and payment records. Report suspected health-insurance fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state attorney general. Medicare-related fraud can be reported at Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE.
Respond without blame. These pages are designed to look helpful at the exact moment someone needs help.
Talk about it tonight
Ask: “If we needed to compare Medicare or health plans tonight, which website would we type in ourselves?”
Bookmark the correct site together before Open Enrollment pressure begins.
If a health-plan ad, call, text, or website feels uncertain, describe it in The Scam Hotline Scam Detector. Do not include Medicare numbers, Social Security numbers, account details, passwords, or health information. The free tool can help identify warning signs and organize the next verification step.
Scammers want silence. Families talk. Talk to yours today.