Health officials in the US have issued a fraud alert for a scam involving genetic testing that is targeting seniors, Bloomberg reports.
Sheila Davis, a US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General spokesperson, tells Bloomberg that people are being targeted through telemarketing, booths at public events, health fairs, and even door-to-door visits. The groups offering the tests then using the information they gather to steal peoples' identities and bill Medicare for unneeded tests, Bloomberg adds, noting that the test results they provide are impossible to understand.
"If a genetic testing kit is mailed to you, don't accept it unless it was ordered by your physician," Davis says. "Be suspicious of anyone who offers you free genetic testing and then requests your Medicare number."
This, Bloomberg notes, builds off warnings issued by state and local health officials about genetic testing scammers targeting homeless people in Kentucky and others in Nebraska.