Identity Theft Protection Lock

While credit- and financial-identity theft issues are busy stealing the spotlight and headlines across America, there’s one type of identity theft crime that can be far more devastating. In fact, the World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit public interest research group, reported that medical-identity theft is so harmful to the victim that it can actually lead to death. The problem is that most people have never even heard of medical identity theft, and those that do usually hear of it because they have become a victim of it, making the information too little, too late.

As with financial or credit identity crimes, with this type of fraud the perpetrator uses the victim’s identity, which can be their name, other parts of their identity, or even insurance information, without their knowledge. Those using the fraudulent information do so to obtain medical services or goods, or to even file false medical claims. Because of the frequent erroneous information that is added to the victim’s medical record, it can lead to people being billed for services they never received. As a result, their financial credit can be put in jeopardy if those bills are not paid or removed, and insurance companies may refuse to insure a patient because of the information in their medical history, as fraudulent as it may be.

Other problems that can arise include not being able to obtain a job due to the patient’s medical history record, or patients could be given incorrect treatments or medications, based on what is noted in their record, which could actually lead to death. A patient’s medical records, including those with false information, can be viewed across the nation by those in doctors’ offices, hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmacies. Another part of the problem is that, because this information hasn’t grabbed the headlines much, it hasn’t yet been seen as a huge problem, forcing people to scramble to take action to remedy the situation. Consumers at this point are largely left to fend for themselves, and have few if any repercussion measures they can take, once they have been a victim. In addition, the incorrect medical information can remain on their records for years, or even indefinitely, as many individuals are not aware of it, and various professionals may continue to repeat and copy the erroneous details.

Medical identity theft is, for the most part, a silent type of crime that is sweeping the nation. Most people don’t know whether they have been a victim, and may never even find out. While it’s imperative that consumers learn what medical identity theft is and what they can do to help prevent it, it’s even more important that those working in trusted positions (e.g., doctors, nurses, medical billers, etc.) that have access to medical records be monitored, to ensure there is no leakage of information.

You are covered by our $1 Million Total Service Guarantee from the moment you enroll. If in the unfortunate event your identity is misused while you are a LifeLock member, we will pay professionals to resolve the problem for you – up to $1 million!

Every year, people become victims of medical identity theft and endure great harm that is brought about by this form of theft. With such a huge risk of danger outcomes, one would think that such a crime would be better documented, and that greater measures would be taken to try to prevent it. Consumers cannot rely upon the doctors or those working in the doctor’s office to keep their information secure. There is no way to tell who can be trusted with such sensitive information, and whose hands it may end up in after the patient leaves the appointment. Sadly, we have not reached a point where this issue is under control, and the consumer has little way to fight back, once it has taken place. The only hope the public has is to try to prevent it from happening in the first place, by taking such steps as having their personal information monitored by a reputable company each month.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 5:21 am and is filed under Medical Identity Theft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.