The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently notified physicians of a phone/fax scam in which perpetrators attempt to obtain the physician’s account information.

The perpetrators pose as the Medicare carrier or Medicare Administrative Contractor and fax the physician’s office. The fax instructs physician staff to respond to a questionnaire to provide an account information update within 48 hours to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity.

Medicare fee-for-service providers who receive such a request should not submit any information without checking directly with your contractor. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS Web site (www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/ or www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll).