Description

I found the phone number on the internet which I thought was the official CoveredCA office. I didn’t realize I had accidentally clicked a link that used the same terminology but was NOT the official website. The representative was a young female that seemed legit and she asked me general questions about my income and household size. She asked me what coverage I would like and then placed me on hold to look up my options. She returned with quotes which seemed comparable to what I knew to be on the market so I picked one. Then she proceeded to ask for my address, phone number, and credit card information. Next, she emailed me an “Enrollment Authorization” from [email protected]. It stated the following: “With this email, you can complete the Innovative Partners enrollment application process. Your representative has already entered your information in the Innovative Partners Enrollment Portal. The final step is for you to review a summary of your program and authorize your enrollment application. To do so, click the link below and follow the instructions: CLICK HERE If you have any questions, please contact your representative. And thank you for your interest in our health plan. You’re making a great choice! Sincerely, Innovative Partners” The “Click Here” link took me to a web page where I entered my birthdate to “verify” it was me. On the next page, I was asked to check three boxes. It was at this point I noticed I wasn’t really on an official web page for either CoveredCA or for my chosen health insurance provider (Blue Shield). I saw that it was called Innovative Health and I specifically asked her who is that? I thought since I was about to check some boxes I should be more clear. She said it was just the application they use during enrollment. That sounded reasonable, so I checked the boxes. On the next page, I digitally signed my name and the process was done. She gave me what my new BLUE SHIELD insurance identification number and a phone to call with questions. I thanked her for the great service (ha!) and ended the call. My credit card was charged immediately: INNOVATIVE HEALTH PLANS, 866-9493581, FL. When I read the above credit card charge information I immediately got a sinking feeling that maybe I had made a mistake. I thought it should say BLUE SHIELD CA, not some business in Florida. Well, as it turns out, I don’t seem to have a BLUE SHIELD health insurance plan after all. The insurance identification number she gave me doesn’t exist in the BLUE SHIELD system and the more I have researched the name INNOVATIVE HEALTH PLAN, the more I find other “fraud” stories. So I guess I got duped too. I wish I had listened to my gut better because of that one red flag moment when I asked who is INNOVATIVE HEALTH during the call. It all seemed so real. They even had a lot of background call center noise which made it seem legitimate. But even scammers have call centers! Luckily I never gave my SSN, just my credit card. I tried to block the charge that same day, but it was too late. Later, I called the OFFICIAL CoveredCA people and during the real enrollment process discovered how closely the scammers had modeled their process after the real one. That’s why it felt so real. Sigh.