Cybercriminals Target Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Over 103,000 Individuals Receive Warnings as Their Personal Information, Including Names, Addresses, Provider records, and Other Sensitive Data, Potentially Exposed
In a recent development, a data breach on Medicare.gov, the official website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has potentially exposed sensitive personal and health records of approximately 103,000 Americans. The compromised information includes names, dates of birth, Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers, coverage start dates, ZIP codes, provider details, mailing addresses, dates of service, diagnosis codes, services received, and plan premiums.
The breach is believed to have been caused by hackers using valid beneficiary details obtained from unknown external sources to create fraudulent Medicare.gov accounts between 2023 and May 2025. The CMS discovered the breach after receiving multiple complaints through their call center and deactivated all fraudulent accounts.
To prevent further exploitation, CMS has taken several measures. They have disabled the creation of new Medicare.gov accounts from foreign IP addresses, mailed new Medicare cards with new beneficiary identifiers to those affected, and are actively monitoring claims data for suspicious activity. The agency has also urged beneficiaries to review explanations of benefits for unauthorized charges and to report suspicious activity to 1-800-MEDICARE or the Office of Inspector General.
Despite these measures, the CMS has not received any reports of identity fraud or improper use of personal information as a result of the incident. The agency is working closely with relevant parties to investigate the incident and mitigate its effects.
Meanwhile, in the world of cryptocurrency, Ethereum-based memecoin PEPETO has surpassed $5.5 million in presale, and analysts predict more rallies for two of the 'strongest' memecoins, hinting at more altcoin explosions. Elsewhere, Everclear has secured a strategic investment from the NEAR Foundation to scale cross-chain clearing, and PlayW3 has launched a $250 million on-chain partner fund to support the global Web 3.0 gaming ecosystem.
In a separate incident, a scammer drained $10,000,000 from the IRS in an international tax fraud and identity theft scheme, and MultiBank.io has partnered with Fireblocks and Mavryk to launch a $10 billion real estate tokenization platform.
The CMS encourages affected individuals to get a free credit report from each of the three major nationwide credit reporting companies to monitor their accounts closely. This incident serves as a reminder for everyone to stay vigilant and protect their personal information online.
- The bitcoin market, which includes Ethereum and altcoins like PEPETO, continues its dynamic movement, with analysts noticing promising trends for certain memecoins.
- While the CMS takes measures to mitigate the impact of the recent data breach, they advise individuals to monitor their credit reports closely as a precautionary measure.
- Meanwhile, the crypto trading landscape evolves with strategic investments, such as the one Everclear received from the NEAR Foundation, aiming to boost cross-chain clearing capabilities, and the launch of a $250 million partner fund by PlayW3 for the global Web 3.0 gaming ecosystem.
