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This editorial piece highlights rising scam trends identified in July news coverage, including romance scams (which affected over 70,000 people in 2022 with $1.3 billion in losses), AI-powered impersonation scams (which increased 148% between April 2024 and March 2025), and counterfeit drug schemes. The author emphasizes the value of scam awareness journalism in helping readers protect themselves and vulnerable populations like elderly relatives from evolving fraud threats across technology and dating platforms.

A 26-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico, April Guadalupe Hernandez, was charged with 19 counts of misconduct including nursing without a license, identity theft, abuse of a resident, and fraud for falsifying nursing credentials and stealing identities of nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas. Over one year, Hernandez worked at three hospice centers using different name variations, claiming to hold higher nursing credentials than she possessed, and made a potentially fatal medication error (an overdose of morphine) that was caught before administration; she has an arraignment scheduled for September 8th.

During Medicare Open Enrollment Period (October 15-December 7), scammers impersonate Medicare representatives and contact seniors unsolicited, falsely claiming they need a new Medicare card and requesting Medicare numbers, bank account information, or payments—when legitimate Medicare cards are free and automatically mailed. To protect themselves, seniors should ignore unexpected requests for personal or financial information, verify caller identity by hanging up and calling 1-800-MEDICARE directly, and use official resources like Medicare.gov or their State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for plan comparisons. Suspected Medicare fraud should be reported to 1-800-MEDICARE and the FTC at ReportFrau

During Medicare Open Enrollment Period (October 15-December 7), scammers impersonate Medicare representatives and contact seniors unexpectedly, requesting personal information, Medicare numbers, or payments under the false pretense of issuing new or updated Medicare cards. Medicare never contacts beneficiaries unsolicited to request financial information or payment, as legitimate Medicare cards are free and mailed automatically. To protect yourself, ignore unexpected calls demanding personal information, verify suspicious calls by independently dialing 1-800-MEDICARE, use official resources like Medicare.gov and your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for plan information, and report scams to 1-800-MEDICARE and the FTC at Re

The Iowa Insurance Division is warning Medicare beneficiaries about scams during the 2026 open enrollment period (October 15–December 7), which scammers exploit to steal personal information and fraudulently enroll individuals in new plans. Common schemes include unsolicited calls and texts requesting Medicare numbers or personal data, with Medicare fraud costing an estimated $100 billion annually. Free assistance is available through certified SHIIP counselors across Iowa to help beneficiaries safely navigate enrollment decisions.