Although everyone has been told at one point or another to only carry their Medicare ID cards and never to carry their Social Security cards, Medicare ID cards have the same number as a Social Security card, which means they present the same risk of identity theft! As a measure of safety, in April 2018 the government will begin distributing new Medicare ID cards that do not display the owner’s Social Security number on them. However, there are some measures that you can take in the mean time to protect yourself from identity theft.