MetLife insurance policy scam
Beware!! This was all started by a met life claim that i filled on behalf of a deceased relative..
Got a very genuine looking letter in the mail claiming to be from met life. Since i had previously filled a claim I thought nothing of it. I opened the letter to find a different policy # for someone who had passed quite some time ago. I called the # on the paper,which was different than numbers on other papers.. a man answered the phone. No menus to go through, just a gentleman that had a very thick accent who's name i couldn't understand even though i asked 4 times. He kept telling me that i needed to fill out the paperwork and send it back that they would process the claim within 30 days. I felt something was off as all the claims for this person had been filed and paid over a decade ago. I hung up and called the number on the other paperwork. I immediately had to go through menu after menu to get someone on the phone. I gave the phone number I had just hung up with and was told that's not a met life number and not to fill anything out. That claim had been paid on already. Paperwork was genuine, address was a met life address on the letter head. Different Address to mail paperwork back to and not a met life phone number. Phone # 800-607-0324. Don't want to see anyone get taken in by this.
Samiam These scams are looking more and more legitimate these past few years. Be safe everyone!
ConsigliereI would call MetLife scam protection / security department to verify information. Nowadays most insurance companies operate thru independent managerial agents so the phone might be for the independent agent, especially with old claims. Also if payment has been already made on this old claim, if you are a beneficiary and didn't receive it - who actually had received the money on this claim? Don't assume that when you call main MetLife line, you got a correct answer, especially if they are telling you that your inquiry has no grounds and policy was already paid.
Lena Yeah, that sounds like a pretty detailed one. Lena is right in that my Health Insurance uses a third party to check claims against workman's compensation or other insurance company. The third party comes in so weak, machine driven. I always disconnect, call my insurer, find out it's legit, and take the next call or call back.
Scary although these types of scams have been going on since they're were obituaries. It bums like this try to take advantage of you at this time. Worse than vultures.
My condolences on your loss and hope Lena is right and you are not being scammed at this time in your life.
strangerdanger I recognize that phone number as it has been called to my home many times and my caller ID always picks it up as a scam. I also, however, have dealt recently with MetLife Insurance...If you google that number it will also say it has been reported as a scam..
joyful The main question is still open regardless of the contact phone number - to whom policy claim was paid if you as a beneficiary didn't receive it and was the payment amount correct. It's common for insurance business to have policy audits (even paid out) that can reveal previous issues on policy. Also "Audits of leading life insurance companies have uncovered a systematic, industry-wide practice of not paying significant numbers of beneficiaries" ( https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-life-insurance-investigation-lesley-stahl/). Is the address to where paperwork should be sent a legitimate MetLife claim processing address? Is the letter ask you to pay any fee in any possible way (cash, Money order, gift card, wire, etc) - the clear sign of a scam? It's a very unusual for someone random to have access to confidential policy numbers and beneficiary information, especially if you recognized information and it seems to be correct. The situation definitely should be reported to MetLife fraud protection department, for your own protection. It can be much worse than just a phone scam. Or it might be legitimate money you didn't receive.
Keep in mind many people have a Group Life Insurance policy through their work and may have an Individual Life Insurance policy they bought through an Agent somewhere along the line.
So a different policy number wouldn't necessary raise a red flag.
Used to pay death claims years ago and trust me - major Life Insurance company's have no interest in not paying beneficiaries. Half the problem is when the spouse is not the beneficiary - like a brother or sister or some relative is named - you can't track these people down. All you have is a beneficiary card with a name and maybe an old address. We used to try and track people down but people move and we would send a letter out but many times you never hear from the people. Think eventually after a number of years it goes to state and you can claim it from the state.
Most states require Insurance Companies to pay interest on Life Insurance claims and it is much higher than banks 5 to 10 percent from date of death to date of payment so in some case it can be a substantial amount of money.
We had this drawer for Cuban Claims from the 50's and 60's that could not be paid on because the beneficiaries lived in Cuba and we couldn't pay them due to Government Sanctions. There were or are people walking around Cuba who were millionaires and they didn't even know it.
Crazy - that was a few careers ago.
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I had exactly the same experience as Samiam. A 9 page letter, that they wanted returned, a Claim Form, personal information, social security numbers and a copy of a death certificate. When I called their customer service phone number, I had a difficult time understanding the gal on the phone. Her English was not good. She offered conflicting information and could not answer any of my questions. The return address is different from any on the MetLife web site. I reported the incident as fraud.
cindycck I just received that letter. Trying to verify any of the information with METLife. Nothing matched. I typed in the number on the form, 800-607-0324, and got this website. I consider myself fairly savvy, college educated, 60 years smart, and I came pretty close to falling for this one. But, as most things that "seem too good to be true," you become a skeptic, and with very little research, here I am. Wow, this is one of the most legit looking forms/scams I've ever seen! One of the things that raised a red flag, other than the one I just mentioned, is the return envelop, no postage paid. ANYTHING like this is almost always a postage paid envelop.
Wonder just how many people they scam, and get away with it.
Patty Glad you didn't get taken Patty. Everything on my form was legit EXCEPT for the claim #. Policy # was correct but was already paid on years ago. They were just digging for personal info.
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