Madigan warns residents about medical alert service scam

Complaints to attorney general's office report unsolicited calls seeking individuals' financial information

[June 12, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- Attorney General Madigan is alerting Illinois residents to be wary of unsolicited calls advertising purported free medical alert services. Following an uptick in complaints reported to her office, Madigan said call recipients should ignore the solicitation and not provide any personal information to the caller.

In recent weeks, Madigan's office has received "a number of calls" from concerned Illinois residents, reporting solicitations for "Medi Alert" or other medical alert services, which many seniors use in case of emergencies to call for help. Some of the prerecorded messages indicate that the individual is eligible for a free medical alert system. In other instances, consumers reported that the message indicates that a family member has ordered a medical alert system and more information is needed to process the order. A third reported variation of the message says the business has received the system and wants to deliver the product.

People who complained to Madigan's office said that if the call recipient presses "1" to talk to someone, they then are asked to provide personal financial information, such as a credit card number or a bank routing number, to pay the monthly service fee associated with the medical alert service -- even though the medical alert service was never ordered.

"When you're asked to provide personal financial information for a product you haven't ordered, that's a sure sign of a scam," Madigan said. "Anyone who receives these calls should not provide their personal information, and they should hang up immediately."

Madigan noted that Illinois residents who receive these calls should report them to her office and provide as much information as possible, including any information the caller conveys and the number they ask you to call in response to the inquiry.

[Text from file received from the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan]