TRICARE, the managed health-care program for the armed forces, is advising its beneficiaries to precautions to protect against identity theft. While legitimate marketing research companies will at times contact service members by telephone to garner feedback about TRICARE services, the agency notes that telephone surveyors will never ask for personal identification like Social Security numbers or dates of birth. As such, beneficiaries should reject overtures from any purported surveyors who do seek such information. Other advice follows common sense: Check credit card and bank statements and explanations of health care benefits for discrepancies; don’t dispense personal information over the telephone or online, shred documents that contain personal information before throwing them away.
