06/01/2026
June 2026 Fraud Prevention
The Missouri SMP Helps Spot Scams, One Community at a Time.
Scams seem to be everywhere these days. Maybe you’ve gotten a strange phone call claiming your Medicare card is “expiring.” Maybe you’ve seen ads promising free medical equipment or heard about someone losing money to a healthcare scam. It can happen fast, and it can happen to anyone.
That’s exactly why the Missouri SMP (Senior Medicare Patrol), exists. Since 1997, the Missouri SMP has helped Medicare beneficiaries, caregivers, and families learn how to spot scams before they happen.
This is done by hosting outreach events, such as Scamborees, throughout the state. These events, held in various communities, answer questions, and help people feel confident protecting themselves.
Across Missouri, SMP volunteers and staff speak to senior centers, churches, community groups, libraries, and health fairs. They meet people where they are. Sometimes all it takes is one conversation for someone to realize, “Wait a minute…that phone call I got yesterday didn’t sound right.”
That awareness matters. One of the biggest strengths of the Missouri SMP is that they empower people instead of scaring them or making them feel like a victim. The message is simple... you can protect yourself, and you are not alone.
The Missouri SMP is here to provide you with information you need to protect, detect, and report potential Medicare fraud, errors, and abuse. If you think you or a loved one has been a target of a Medicare scam, call the Missouri SMP at 888-515-6565.
This project was supported, in part, by the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as
part of a financial assistance award totaling $638,014 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily
represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government