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Medicare Open Enrollment doesn't start until Oct. 15. So why am I telling you to worry about this in August? Because by the time Oct. 15 arrives, scammers aren't starting their work. They're finishing it.
The scam calls you may hear this fall, including fake Medicare card offers and urgent Social Security warnings, are only the final step. Scammers often build their target lists long before they make contact. Here is how that targeting process works and what you can do now to make yourself and your family harder to scam.
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DR OZ WARNS MEDICARE SCAMMERS ARE STEALING BILLIONS — AND YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION COULD BE NEXT
Medicare Open Enrollment begins Oct. 15, giving scammers a predictable window to target older Americans with fake benefit calls, texts and messages. (Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
Two major dates put Medicare and Social Security on the minds of millions of Americans each fall.
Medicare Open Enrollment begins on Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. During that period, people can review their coverage and make certain changes that generally take effect Jan. 1. That also means beneficiaries expect to receive plan information, advertisements and calls about their coverage.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics currently plans to release September 2026 inflation data on Oct. 14. That release will complete the third-quarter CPI-W figures used to calculate the 2027 Social Security COLA. The Social Security Administration says the next COLA will be announced in October 2026. Based on the current schedule, the announcement is expected on Oct. 14. The Senior Citizens League currently projects a 3.8% increase for 2027. That estimate has been generating headlines, but it isn't the official number. The final percentage will depend on inflation data for July, August and September. Scammers do not have to guess when people will be thinking about benefits. These dates are public and repeat every year.
Here's what almost nobody thinks about. A scam call often comes near the end of the process, not the beginning. Before a fraudster dials, someone has to decide whom to target. Consumer lists can help make that decision. The Justice Department has already shown in court how marketing data can end up in the hands of scammers.
Epsilon Data Management maintained a database covering roughly 100 million American households. Two former employees, Robert Reger and David Lytle, spent about a decade selling targeted consumer lists to people running fraud schemes. Epsilon used consumer data and algorithms to identify people who were likely to respond to certain offers. One fraudster bought nearly 100 lists and used them to defraud more than 218,000 victims of over $23.7 million. Epsilon paid $150 million to resolve the case. That included $22.5 million in criminal penalties and $127.5 million for victim compensation. In September 2024, a federal court sentenced Reger to 120 months in prison and Lytle to 48 months.
Epsilon was not alone. KBM Group employees sold consumer data to clients involved in fraudulent mass-mailing schemes. The company entered into an agreement requiring it to pay $33.5 million for victim compensation and an $8.5 million criminal fine. Macromark pleaded guilty to knowingly supplying lists of potential victims to fraudulent mass mailers. Many of the victims were older and vulnerable. The company agreed to pay $1 million in fines and forfeiture. These companies did not operate from hidden corners of the dark web. They were established marketing businesses with employees, clients and offices.
Legitimate marketing companies still sell consumer lists online. Vendors advertise databases of Americans age 65 and older, along with lists created specifically for businesses that want to contact people approaching their 65th birthday. Buyers can often filter those lists by age, location, income, homeownership and other demographic details. Some products also include names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and estimated home values. Selling a marketing list does not automatically make the vendor or buyer a scammer. However, the market shows how easily someone can identify and contact a narrow group of older Americans. That is why August and September matter. The personal data already exists, the enrollment dates are public and anyone planning a fall fraud campaign can begin researching potential targets before the calls start.
