Share of Cost: Watch Out for the American Opportunity Act Scam
Did you know that by calling a special 1-800 number you may qualify to receive $500 from the American Opportunity Act? By providing your Social Security number, date of birth and other personal information, in just 4 weeks you will receive a Visa Check card ready to be loaded with money. Sound too good to be true? Well it is!
Scam artists are continually misusing real information in an effort to steal beneficiaries’ money and their personal information. There is no program called the American Opportunity Act that just gives away money. But as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, parents and students can qualify under the American Opportunity Tax Credit to pay for college expenses.
We encourage people to never give their personal information out to strangers. This type of information is used to not only commit identity theft but also to commit medical identity theft as well as stealing money from the health care system in the form of Medicare fraud. To learn more about our California SMP and how you can prevent Medicare fraud and abuse, see our Medicare Fraud section.