Con artists are nothing if not nimble, and the transformation of American healthcare has given them their best opportunity in years to exploit confusion and uncertainty. As always, they have just two ways to make a patsy out of you: They can make you the victim or the unwitting accomplice. Here's how to avoid being either.

This is the old identity theft game, with a new twist or two.

The federal healthcare reform law known as Obamacare mandates that all Americans obtain health insurance coverage. If they must buy their own, they can use the federal healthcare exchange at HealthCare.gov, or their own state's version of the program, if it has one.

A consumer who uses the exchange can compare the costs and coverage of every insurance company that offers a plan in the county in which they live. As part of the enrollment process, the program determines any tax subsidy that the person may get to offset the costs. The monthly bill will reflect those savings. (It's based on estimated income, but a recent report says that 86% of all exchange users are getting a subsidy.)

Plenty of confusion, concern and controversy accompanied the rollout of Obamacare. And that has been a perfect storm of opportunity for con artists, a post on the website Scambusters notes.

The con artists have their own enrollment process, and it's all about grabbing your personal information. By the time you realize you've been had, your personal information is being used to rack up fake charges, or it's being resold on a giant Internet database of stolen information. Or both.

To avoid being a victim:

• Be proactive. Buy insurance coverage through the exchange or directly from a health insurance company. Then, don't respond to any offers made to you. If they say they can get you a cheaper deal, a medical discount plan or a free gift, they're lying. If they say you need to act now, they're just trying to scare you.
• Don't pay anybody to help you with Obamacare. The Federal Trade Commission reports that con artists are posing as government workers eager to help you navigate the new system. The real Obamacare navigators don't contact you. You contact them through the HealthCare.gov site. And their services are free.
• Don't give out personal information over the telephone, by mail or on the web unless you're quite sure you're dealing with a legitimate company or the government. (For further reading, see Avoid The Top 5 Scams Affecting Senior Citizens and 10 Tips To Avoid Common Financial Scams.)

In this variation of fraud, con artists target insurance companies or the government, which subsidizes health services through Medicaid, Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Their main tactic is to submit falsified documents for unnecessary or nonexistent medical services or equipment. And they need your help to pull it off.

As in Scam One, the goal is to steal your personal information. Your signature is prized, too, though in a pinch they'll fake that. These fraudsters have been known to work health clubs, shopping malls and retirement homes. They set up booths at health fairs. They use telemarketing services and go door-to-door. They may offer free health tests or screenings. They may offer to sell you medical equipment at an incredibly cheap price.

The tests are fake. The equipment will never arrive, or, if it does, it will be a cheap substitute for the promised model. Meanwhile, the con artists have got all they need to submit a false claim: the information on your insurance or Medicare card, and your signature.

To avoid being an accomplice:

• Don't accept an offer of free or cheap health services or equipment, or provide your signature or your insurance information, unless you're certain that you're doing business with people that you trust. The best way to insure that is to contact them, rather than the reverse.
• Watch for warning signs of a bogus health service. One is an offer of a gift for your participation. The other is simply a lack of professional standards. For instance, you get your temperature and blood pressure taken every time you go to a doctor's office these days. Con artists may not bother with those kinds of niceties.
• Check the benefits statements that you get from your health insurance company. If any mysterious reimbursements show up, call the company and ask for an explanation.
• Sadly, even some medical professionals have been caught committing insurance fraud. Make sure you understand what services you are receiving, and why. And don't sign a blank insurance form.

Healthcare is now about a $3 trillion-a-year business in the U.S. Inevitably, con artists are skimming a share of the action, to the tune of tens of billions a year, according to the FBI's site on white collar crime. A few precautions is all it takes for you to avoid being a victim or an unwitting accomplice. But there's one more thing you can do to help us all: Blow the whistle on those jokers. You can tip off the FBI's white-color crime unit to help the agency investigate. And, you can tip off the Federal Trade Commission to put those con artists out of business.