That Medicare Search Ad Is A Scam — How To Tell

Medicare Open Enrollment runs until December 7, so this is the season for comparing plans online. You sit down, search for Medicare — and the very first result looks exactly right: familiar colors, an official-looking logo, a confident headline. It may not be Medicare at all. The Federal Trade Commission warned on September 28, 2026 that scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top of search results, using web addresses that look similar to the real government sites, plus keywords and official-looking logos, to make you think you are at Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov when you are not. If you use the link or the phone number in one of those ads, the FTC says you might end up paying for a plan that is not health insurance — or expose yourself to medical identity theft.

What Arrives

It starts with an ordinary search: "Medicare plans," "Medicare open enrollment," "compare Medicare." A paid result sits at the very top of the page, above the real Medicare.gov listing, marked only with a small "Ad" or "Sponsored" label that is easy to scroll past. The web address looks close to a government address — but close is not the same. Click it, and you land on a page built to look official, where the goal is to get your personal information, your Medicare number, or your phone call. The same trick is used with look-alike HealthCare.gov ads during Marketplace open enrollment. That top result is not a listing that earned its place — it is a billboard someone bought, dressed in a government costume.

The 5 Red Flags

1. It is labeled "Ad" or "Sponsored." That small label means someone paid for that spot. The FTC's advice is simple: look for the small "Ad" or "Sponsored" labels next to search results to identify paid ads — and scroll past them.
2. The web address looks similar to a government address — but is not quite it. Bad actors use addresses designed to look like the real thing at a glance. A quick glance is exactly what they are counting on.
3. The address does not end in .gov. The FTC says to scroll past paid ads and be sure to look for the .gov ending. The real Medicare site is Medicare.gov. A look-alike with a different ending is somebody else.
4. It wears an official-looking logo and uses government-sounding words. Logos, seals, and keywords are the costume. The FTC warns that bad actors use keywords and official-looking logos precisely so you believe you are on the real Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov.
5. It pushes you to use its link or call its phone number. That is the trap itself. The FTC is direct: if you use the link or phone number in the ad, you might end up paying for a scammy plan that's not health insurance, or expose yourself to medical identity theft.

The 3 Defenses That Always Work

1. Type the address yourself. For Medicare, it is Medicare.gov — type the name of the website directly into your browser instead of clicking a search result, exactly as the FTC advises. For Marketplace plans, it is HealthCare.gov. Typing it yourself takes five seconds and skips the costume entirely.
2. Skip anything labeled "Sponsored" or "Ad." Scroll past the paid results at the top of the page and look for the real listing with the .gov ending. The real Medicare site does not need to buy its way to the top of your search.
3. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) directly. If you would rather talk to a person, call the real Medicare number yourself — the one Medicare itself publishes — and never a phone number you found inside a search ad.

Already Clicked Or Shared Information? Do This Next

First, take a breath. These ads are engineered — the paid top spot, the official-looking logo, the familiar colors — to catch a careful person in a hurry during a busy season. Being caught by one is not carelessness; it is what the ad was bought and built to do. What matters now is acting calmly, in the right order:

1. Stop entering information and close the page. If the look-alike site already has some of your details, typing more will not make it better. Closing the page ends the conversation with the fake site.
2. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Tell them what happened and what you shared. The FTC notes that if a scam involves Medicare, you can report it at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-633-4227.
3. Report it. The FTC asks anyone who suspects a health insurance scam to report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to their state attorney general. Your report helps get the look-alike ads taken down before they catch the next person.
4. Watch your Medicare mail and statements. Medical identity theft means someone using your Medicare information to get care or equipment in your name. If you see care, equipment, or charges you do not recognize, call 1-800-MEDICARE and say so right away.

One thing we will never pretend to be: AOP3D Tech is a tech-support company. We fix computers, clean up messes, and help our neighbors spot scams — we are not insurance advisors, and we cannot help you choose or enroll in a health plan. For plan questions, the real Medicare team at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) is the right call.

Seen a Medicare search ad that looked a little too official? Describe it in the comments and we'll check it

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