When a man with a heavy foreign accent called from Medicare, Clare Juddson tried to understand him. “He wanted information about my Medicare card, but he was very hard to understand,” said the 82-year-old Julliard graduate. “I hung up because he was unintelligible.”

But before ending the call, Juddson told the caller, who turned out to be a fraudster, to mail her a letter detailing his request.

Consumer advocates said cases like this are on the rise.

“With the new Medicare cards that are rolling out this year, we are receiving reports of phone scams where seniors are being asked to confirm their current information,” said Jenna Gladfelter, director of the Senior Medicare Patrol Program with LiveOn New York. “Unsuspecting victims give over all of their personal information, including their current Medicare number, which is their Social Security number.”

The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that health-care fraud costs the nation about $68 billion annually, which is 3 percent of the nation's $2.26 trillion in health care spending.

As a result, new cards will no longer contain a person's Social Security number, but rather a unique, randomly assigned Medicare number that protects people's identity.

“We’re hearing about victims who are being asked by phone to pay from $5 to $700 to get the new card,” Gladfelter said at the 13th Annual Elder Abuse Conference in Manhattan. “A senior doesn’t have to do anything to initiate the process. Whenever your card is sent out, that's when you will receive it in the mail.”

Medicare cards are being mailed automatically by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to those who qualify, free of charge. The transition to the new card is expected to end in April 2019.

Gladfelter suggested that professionals such as financial advisors help their retired clients by informing them of phone scams and offering services, such as reviewing billing statements for unrecognized charges.

“You might see a wheelchair that is a fraudulent charge because your client doesn’t use a wheelchair,” Gladfelter told Financial Advisor magazine.

Other ways to monitor for Medicare fraud is to record doctor appointments and services and to report unrecognized claims to CMS by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Gladfelter was joined at the annual Jewish Association Serving the Aging (JASA) conference by Gary S. Brown, elder abuse coordinator with the New York State Attorney’s Office, who warned of phone scams involving the serial number of gift cards.

“The longer you stay on the phone with a stranger, the more likely you will be a victim,” Brown said.

Gift card phone scams typically involve a fake utility bill, phony foreign lottery winnings or false claims that a grandchild is in legal trouble.

“Once the grandparent provides the serial number of the gift card, the caller can then transfer the balance onto another gift card without a trace,” Brown told the audience.

If the gift card was purchased with a credit card, proceeds lost through fraud may be refunded through the credit card provider.

Another rising scam involves romance online. The senior citizen may be groomed for six weeks to six months on dating sites like Match.com without even a single face-to-face date before they are asked for money.

“We’re getting complaints weekly from more and more seniors who are online,” said Brown. “Their emotions get played for manipulation purposes while loneliness and love motivate them to give money.”