Prestige Financial Concepts- Medicare/Life/Health Insurance

12/25/2023

06/01/2023

Scam of the Week
Recently, cybercriminals have taken advantage of PayPal, the popular international online payment platform. Cybercriminals are spoofing PayPal in order to try and steal your personal or financial information.

In this scam, cybercriminals send you a phishing email saying that one of your PayPal payments didn’t process and that you need to act fast. The email contains a phone number allegedly from PayPal, prompting you to call. This phone call appears legitimate, but it’s actually from cybercriminals spoofing PayPal. If you call this number, cybercriminals can trick you into giving away your personal or financial information.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:
Be cautious when giving your financial information to someone over the phone. Instead, avoid using phone numbers provided in emails and navigate to the organization’s official website.
Be suspicious of emails that contain a sense of urgency. Cybercriminals use a sense of urgency as an attempt to catch you off guard and get you to click or act impulsively.
Remember that this type of attack isn’t exclusive to PayPal. Cybercriminals could use this technique to impersonate any organization in any country.

05/24/2023

Scam of the Week
Recently, a ring of cybercriminals used a smishing attack in order to steal credit card information. A smishing attack is a type of phishing attack through SMS messaging. The cybercriminals used this stolen bank information to purchase cryptocurrency that they then exchanged for cash. Read the below information to learn more about this scam and how you can protect yourself from cybercriminals.

In this scam, cybercriminals sent SMS messages pretending to be a bank. The message says that a security issue needs to be resolved and will prompt you to click a link to your bank’s login page. This page looks legitimate, but it’s actually a spoofed page that records your keystrokes. If you enter your bank login information, cybercriminals will use this information to hack into your bank account.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:
Think before you open a link. Cyberattacks are designed to catch you off guard and trigger you to open links impulsively.
Never enter your bank login information from a link in a text message. Instead, navigate to your bank’s official website to log in.
Remember that this type of attack isn’t exclusive to banks. Cybercriminals could use this technique to impersonate any organization.

05/24/2023

Community Health Fair to showcase what I do.

05/04/2023

Scam of the Week
AI FishBait
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular in the past year. Many people have started using AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Bard. Unfortunately, cybercriminals are taking advantage of AI’s popularity to steal your information.

In a recent scam, cybercriminals created fake Facebook ads for free downloads of AI products. If you click one of these ads, you’ll be prompted to download a fake file. Once you download the file, malware will be activated on your device. Cybercriminals can use this malware to steal sensitive information, such as your credit card numbers and passwords.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:

1. Cybercriminals can buy ads anywhere. So, always think before you click.
2. Only download files from trusted sources, such as the official Google or AI website. Watch out for ads that prompt you to click links instead of visiting official websites.
3. Before you click an ad, hover your mouse over it to view the related link. Make sure that the link leads to a legitimate, safe website that corresponds with the content in the ad.

05/04/2023

Scam of the Week
Linktree is a landing page service where businesses and individuals can list multiple links on one page. This service is often used on social media for quick and easy access to multiple webpages. However, cybercriminals can also use Linktree to host malicious links to try to steal your personal information.

In a recent scam, you get a notification that a file has been shared with you by someone you know, but it’s actually a cybercriminal in disguise. This notification prompts you to open the file through a link. If you click the link, you’ll be redirected to a legitimate Linktree page that contains a fake Microsoft 365 link. This link will take you to a login page that prompts you to enter your Microsoft credentials. Once you share this information, cybercriminals can use it for their malicious purposes.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:
Never click a link or download an attachment in an email that you weren’t expecting.
Be cautious before you enter your online credentials. Verify that the login page is safe and legitimate.
Make sure that the sender is actually who they say they are. If the sender claims to be someone you know, reach out to them in person or by phone to verify.

05/02/2023

https://www.facebook.com/fhcntx/photos/a.139928596717491/1220889071954766/?__cft__[0]=AZULyrmbfEP6knyTnkIYDAXmd29AR2COYzhK5b8ERpCj5mEEUoK2_r7HF_xpdx8PWtZl4C31QchZOVZ3gy0F0B_UPl2ItZjv3YrMkZaqEiqa8OG2IOUrss6PbWsk7uzXKdkcZwstnzRfLO7-A7GB-mcpFwAGAjKGohUUXCO3eyQmcGFvkg_7Jmm_KO3luA0plsg&__tn__=EH-R

Family Health Center on Virginia is hosting the Heart, Mind, and Soul Expo in conjunction with the Far North Dallas Jack & Jill of America Foundation and North Texas Family Health Foundation on Saturday, May 6th from 12:00pm to 3:00pm. The event will bring together several community vendors from the McKinney area to offer resource information, health screenings and presentations, kid's activities, and more. Bring the entire family to the Heart, Mind, and Soul Expo on Saturday, May 6th. Family Health Center on Virginia is located at 1620 W. Virginia St., McKinney, Texas 75069. For more information, please call (214) 618-5600.

04/09/2023

Scam of the Week 2- another but can't wait until next week
Blank Image Phishing Scams
Most email providers have security filters that check emails for malicious links or attachments. You may feel like you can rely on these filters and, as a result, trust that emails sent to your inbox are safe. Unfortunately, cybercriminals can take advantage of this trust by using blank image phishing to bypass security filters.

The scam starts with a fake email that appears to be from DocuSign. The email asks you to review and sign a document as soon as possible and contains an HTML attachment. Instead of an important document, the attachment is a blank SVG with malicious code. Because this code is hidden inside the attachment, the email can bypass security filters. If you download the attachment, the code will redirect you to a malicious website that will prompt you to enter sensitive information. If you enter this information, cybercriminals can use it for their own purposes.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:

Always think before you download an attachment. This type of cyberattack is designed to trick you into downloading attachments impulsively
Never click a link or download an attachment in an email that you aren’t expecting. While this attack targets DocuSign users, this scam could be used with any organization that manages electronic agreements
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your accounts when it is available. MFA adds an extra layer of security and lowers the chance of cybercriminals logging in to your account

04/09/2023

The Inflation Reduction Act Helps Millions
The Inflation Reduction Act was created to help provide financial relief to millions of Americans nationwide, both Medicare and ACA enrollees. Although CMS's implementation timeline is spread out over the next 6 years, here are some key provisions that are already in effect:
Free Vaccines: Recommended preventative vaccines, such as shingles and Tdap, will be free of charge for people with Medicare Part D coverage
Insulin Cap: Each covered insulin is capped at $35 for a month's supply and there is no deductible for people with Medicare Part D coverage
Rebates Required from Drug Manufacturers: If manufacturers increase their prices for certain drugs that exceed the rate of inflation, then they are required to pay rebates to Medicare
ACA/Marketplace Subsidies: Continuing enhanced tax credits that helped 13 million Americans save an average of $800 on their health insurance
You can view the CMS.gov fact sheet for more information here:

https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/inflation-reduction-act-lowers-health-care-costs-millions-americans

04/09/2023

Scam of the Week
Watch Out for Bank Scams
Recently, the US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) recently shut down due to failure to meet its financial obligations. This collapse has caused a public panic, and unfortunately, cybercriminals take advantage of high-profile news stories to catch your attention and manipulate your emotions.

In the coming weeks, we expect to see cybercriminals referencing the collapse of SVB in phishing attacks and disinformation campaigns. Cybercriminals are already taking advantage of this event to try to steal your sensitive information. For example, cybercriminals may send you emails offering money or financial advice in response to the bank failure. These emails may appear to come from trusted financial services, but interacting with these emails can lead to cybercriminals taking your banking information or funds.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:

Always think before you click. Cyberattacks are designed to catch you off guard and trigger you to click impulsively.
Watch out for sensational or shocking headlines about SVB. These headlines could lead to articles that contain disinformation, or false information designed to intentionally mislead you.
Be cautious of unexpected payout opportunities. Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

03/30/2023

Hello everyone. For those on Medicaid look in your mail for a letter to verify your Medicaid status. This was an annual requirement but was suspended due to Covid. For those on a Dual status Medicare Advantage plan you will get a letter from your insurance company. If you fail to verify your status you could lose your Medicaid and Medicare plan coverage. This is not a scam but make sure whatever you get in the mail is either from your state Medicaid office or insurance company. You can call your insurance company if you want to confirm. I have not heard of any scams yet about this but most likely the scammers will catch on to this and the fake calls will start and the letters will go out. A good Medicare agent is always available to help so remember to call them first. If you don't have an agent you trust I would like to earn your business and be your agent.

01/18/2023

Scam of the Week
Fraudulent Fund Transfers
Organizations often use email to send their employees invoices that they need to pay. Now, cybercriminals are taking advantage of this process by using fraudulent funds transfer (FFT) scams. In FFT scams, cybercriminals try to manipulate you into transferring your organization’s funds to their bank accounts.

To start an FFT scam, cybercriminals use social engineering to steal an email account from your organization. Then, they use this account to send you an email pretending to be an executive from your organization. This email lists bank account information and states that you need to send a payment to the bank account as soon as possible. If you send this payment, you won’t be paying an important invoice for your organization. Instead, you’ll be sending your organization’s money directly to cyber criminals.

Follow the tips below to stay safe from similar scams:

Always think before you click! Cybercriminals can use fake invoices to alarm you and trick you into clicking impulsively.
Never send money to a bank account provided in an email. Instead, navigate to the organization’s official website to submit a secure payment.
To verify the legitimacy of an invoice, reach out to the person who allegedly sent the email by phone or in person.