ID theft : medical ID theft

Know the criminals' tricks – protect yourself much better

IdentityTheft — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:07:00 GMT

The identities of millions of Americans are stolen and compromised each year. A stolen ID is used an average of 30 times before the victim even knows it has been stolen. That's a grim thought – but there are things you can do to protect yourself. The first step is to be familiar with the most common types of identity theft.

The information on your driver's license is valuable to an identity thief because it provides him with your name, address, date of birth and license number. Thieves can use this information to open checking accounts, and buy cars and other high-cost items. And since the thief knows where you live, they can rob you and possibly hurt you and/or your family.

A thief can also use your driver's license in order to obtain your Social Security number by claiming it has been lost and getting a new card issued. This will allow him to obtain Social Security benefits like HUD benefits, medical and dental care, and he can even obtain a fake passport and get out of the country before he's caught.

Another type of theft is medical identity theft. This type of theft involves a thief obtaining your personal information and using it to obtain medical services, leaving you with the bills. This is particularly dangerous because the thief's medical history becomes tied to yours, and you could potentially be injured or even die due to receiving a medication or procedure based on the thief's history and not your own.

The most common type of identity theft is financial. Criminals often steal personal information, along with banking or credit card information, in order to empty the victim's bank account, or make charges on the victim's credit card.

Make sure your monitor your credit card and bank statements carefully each month, and keep a close eye on your credit report as well. Make sure to look closely at each transaction, and check to be sure there is no fraudulent or incorrect information listed.

Health Care Reform Fraud

IdentityTheft — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 07:01:00 GMT

Identity thieves have already begun to exploit provisions in the health care reform bill aimed at closing the Medicare “donut hole”

One provision of the health care reform bill is to start closing the Medicare “donut hole” - the coverage gap that many seniors have in their prescription drug coverage.

What exactly is the “donut hole?”

For seniors who must take expensive prescription drugs, or a combination of many drugs that add up to a large expense, Medicare rules state that they must pay the first $310 worth of drugs (the deductible), and then Medicare pays for the next $2,520 with only a small copay paid by the consumer. Once the total cost of $2,830 (the deductible plus the $2,520) is reached, they become responsible for 100% of the cost of their drugs until their total drug cost reaches $4,550. Once that total is reached, Medicare picks up the cost of the drugs they need for the rest of the year, minus the co-pay.

The $1,720 coverage gap is called the Medicare “donut hole.”

As part of the health care reform legislation passed in March of this year, $250 checks have begun going out to those who have already begun paying the total cost of their drugs due to this coverage gap. The amount of the Federal payments will increase each year – until 2020, when the gap will cease to exist.

The government keeps track through its drug usage database of how much Medicare beneficiaries have already spent on their drugs, and as such, it knows exactly the point when the senior has reached the coverage gap. Once a senior has reached the gap in coverage, a check is sent without the consumer having to do anything at all.

Unfortunately, seniors have long been the target of crooks and frauds. Here are some of the ways criminals are mis-using this program, as well as some suggestions about how to prevent the crime:

Phone calls: Someone pretending to work for the government or an aid agency calls with an offer to help the consumer “apply” for the $250 check.

Home visits: Someone comes to your door asking for information in order to "verify that you are eligible" to receive the reimbursement check. You may be asked to provide your social security number, bank account numbers or other personal data - which can result in fraudulent bank transactions or identity theft.

Internet pop up ads: Ads inviting you to fill out an application for your rebate check may “pop up” on some websites.

No doubt there are additional ways that criminals will think of to steal the money. If you are a senior or receive Medicaid drug coverage, you will automatically receive your check at the right time, and there is no information you need to provide, and nothing you need to do to get it.
If you know someone who is likely to get a check – advise them to ignore such scams.
If you or someone you know is contacted by scammers attempting to gain your personal information, report this fraud by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or by going on line to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Preventing Identity Theft

IdentityTheft — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:18:00 GMT

Some simple steps you can use to prevent identity theft.

Identity theft can occur when someone uses your personal information without your permission. Identity theft is a major problem in today's society and it can affect anyone. In order to prevent identity theft it is crucial that you do everything you can to protect your personal information. Identity theft can cause long-term financial harm to you because, once the thief has enough of your personal information, he or she can commit financial crimes such as applying for and receiving credit cards and loans in your name or making significant purchases on your credit cards or other financial accounts. This can damage your ability to get credit on your own for years afterwards. People whose identities have been stolen can spend years cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record, not to mention a significant amount of money! While your financial good name is damaged, you may miss out on job opportunities, be refused loans for a home or car, or even get arrested for crimes you didn't commit.

Identity theft is a shockingly simple crime to pull off. According to a survey commissioned by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an estimated 10 million Americans become victims of some form of identity theft each year. The estimated loss in business revenue is estimated at more than $33 billion annually.

Ideally, prevent identity theft before it happens to you! Keep a eye out for warning signs: a denied credit application notice, collection agency calls, a revoked drivers license, or changes to your bills that you did not initiate. Prevent identity thieves from getting your personal information in the first place. Some of the typical ways that thieves obtain their information are by:

stealing your wallet or purse to get your identification and credit cards.
"dumpster diving” - digging through your trash.
stealing your mail, especially bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new check deliveries, or your tax information.
Posing as you and completing a "change of address form" to divert your mail to another location.
Pretending to be a legitimate business or government official to scam information from you.

You can get a more complete list of the ways that identity thieves steal information from the Federal Trade Commission web site: http://www.ftc.gov/.

Some of the steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft are to:

Buy a shredder. Shred all communications from doctors and other health care providers, banks and financial institutions and anything else that contains personal information. Be sure to shred any credit offers you get in the mail.
Keep track of your credit cards. Always put them back in your wallet or purse immediately after using them. Keep your receipts; when you get your credit card statement, match the receipts to the transactions listed on the statement. Call your credit card company immediately if there are discrepancies.
Never put your outgoing mail in your mailbox. Take it directly to the post office instead.
Update the firewall, spyware and virus protection software on your home and business computers.
Do not carry your Social Security card with you. Give out your Social Security number only when absolutely necessary. If you can, only give out the last four digits of you number.
Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you've initiated the contact or are sure you know who you're dealing with.
At least once a year contact the three major credit bureaus to obtain copies of your credit reports and examine them carefully for any discrepancies.

If you do have the misfortune to become a victim of identity theft, there are some concrete steps you can take to get your life back on track. Immediately stop all payments on your credit and bank cards. Close your existing bank account and open new ones. Report an identity theft by calling the FTC's ID Theft Hotline-1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) or use the FTC's online ID Theft Complaint form (http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/index.html).

In today's culture identity theft is something that everyone needs to know how to prevent. Make sure that you know the warning signs of identity theft and know what to do if it happens to you.

ID thief sentenced for medical ID theft, documents left in Denver storage unit

IdentityTheft — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:46:00 GMT

Paul Simmons was sentenced in Denver District Court to a total of six years for stealing identities and medical records. His accomplice, Dawn Philbin, pleaded guilty to the same charges, but hasn’t been sentenced yet.

The two were busted after Simmons, 46, got behind on the rent for his storage unit and its contents were auctioned off. When the highest bidder, Brandon Michael, began going through his winnings he discovered hundreds of hospital records, real and fraudulent identifying documents, cameras, video recorders, cell phones and drug paraphernalia.

Michael’s first tried taking the stolen records to the Denver police, but was told he should just throw them away himself. Michael instead took the records to Deborah Sherman, a reporter for 9NEWS, who tracked down Simmons. Sherman turned over all the evidence to the police in January, when her investigation was complete.

Simmons tried to turn himself in a few days later at the Denver City Jail after the police called to say they had an arrest warrant. But, just like the police initially refused the evidence against him, a Sheriff’s deputy at the jail said he didn’t know anything about a warrant for Simmons and sent him away.

The next day when police arrested Simmons, he told the police investigators he used the stolen identities to buy the over-the-counter ingredients to make methamphetamine.

Philbin, 51, worked at St. Anthony Central Hospital, and admitted to stealing 20 patients’ records each week over a period of a year and a half for Simmons. On Simmons’ instruction, she stole the records of white men who’d undergone scheduled surgeries or been emergency room patients.

"I wish an ID thief would steal my identity and improve my credit score."

IdentityTheft — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:49:00 GMT

Years ago when the steel mills in my rust belt hometown closed, my brother-in-law and thousands of others lost their good-paying, manufacturing jobs. A year later, my sister began joking that she wished identity thieves would steal their financial information; she felt certain they’d improve their credit scores.

Luckily, her husband got another job and they were able to pay off their bills and pretty quickly boosted their slumping credit score to its original stature. Even luckier, no one ever stole their identities, or they might never have been able to recover completely.

According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, ID theft victims spent an average of 165 hours cleaning up the mess of new accounts; doing so cost them an average of $950. But those figures don’t take into account that only 35% of the ITRC survey respondents said they’d successfully resolved all financial, medical and criminal issues.

Financial recovery after identity theft fraud is hard enough, but imagine how harrowing it must be for the 56% of ITRC respondents who have had arrest warrants issued in their stolen names, or have actually been arrested for crimes their impostors committed. Criminal identity theft can result in the victims facing charges by the IRS, FBI, state and local law enforcement agencies; it can even result in job loss, or the inability to get a job or driver's license.

And though those scenarios are grim, they’re not life threatening; medical identity theft, on the other hand, can be. Among the identity theft victims involved in the ITRC study, two-thirds discovered that someone else used their identities to receive medical care.

For many of them, the resultant medical bills added to their financial problems. Of course, the bigger problem with medical ID theft is the danger of having incorrect information in medical files, or not being able to receive medical care because someone else took the insurance policy to its $1 million cap.

Medical ID theft prevention

IdentityTheft — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:01:00 GMT

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Just about anyone who has a mother has heard those words, and mama was right—especially when it comes to medical identity theft.

The time to protect yourself is now.

Step 1: Be as cautious with your insurance cards as you are with your credit cards. Make a copy of your insurance card. Then, on the copy blacken out all information except the provider’s name and your own. If you carry a Medicare card use the same tactic by blackening out the last four digits of your Social Security number on the photocopy. Keep the original insurance card locked up safely at home.
Step 2: Go over any statement of benefits you receive from the insurance company. If you find any claims for services you never received, contact your insurer immediately.
Step 3: Don’t wait for a statement of benefits; be proactive. Identity thieves routinely have mail redirected to elude detection. Ask your insurance provider to send you an annual statement of benefits.
Step 4: Check your credit report at least annually. If someone else is receiving medical care using your name, it’s a sure bet they’re not paying the bills for you, too. Sooner or later those bills will end up in the hands of a collections agency and on your credit report.
Step 5: Routinely obtain copies of your medical records, and keep them locked away safely at home. Not only will having these records make it easier to detect any erroneous information that might have already been inserted, it will also make it easier to restore the correct information.

Medical identity theft: The crime that could take your credit, reputation or even your life

IdentityTheft — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:20:00 GMT

The New York Times ran a story over the weekend about medical identity theft. They used Brandon Sharp’s story as an example and ran the story in the paper’s health section.

Medical identity theft stories can be found in just about any section of a newspaper: health, crime or finance—even obituaries--because medical ID theft can affect so many areas of its victims’ lives.

Sharp enjoyed good health and good credit until he became an identity tehft victim. Now he medical services accounts in collections, including a $19,000 charge for Life Flight air ambulance service. There are several more charges for emergency room visits in cities he’s never visited.

Besides wreaking havoc on victims’ credit score, some ID thieves use victims’ identity when arrested. Once out on bond, they skip their court dates, which results in an arrest warrant for the ID theft victim and sometimes multiple arrests. With a record like that, it’s all but impossible to get a job.

Anndorie Sachs learned she was a medical ID theft victim when authorities called to tell her that her newborn baby tested positive for methamphetamine. The next day a child services worker came to her home to take away her four children.

Sachs’ purse was stolen from her car months before, and her identity used in an emergency room by a woman who gave birth to a sickly baby girl and then abandoned her. Sachs was left with a $10,000 hospital bill, a criminal record and a legal fight that went on for years.

Sachs still worries the fraud may have introduced dangerous—even deadly--errors into her medical records. Incorrect entries about blood type, current medications or drug allergies could cost medical identity theft victims more than their good credit—it could cost them their lives.

Yakima Heart Center to patient: No Social Security number, no cardiac care

IdentityTheft — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:26:00 GMT

Your employer needs your Social Security number. And of course the Internal Revenue Service needs your Social Security number. But do your doctors? What happens if you follow the advice of the Social Security Administration and refuse to give it to them?

The Yakima Heart Center will refuse to provide the cardiac care that could make the difference between life and death.

Aram Langhans, a 58-year-old Yakima, Washington resident, was already hooked up to a portable heart monitor Monday to check out his irregular heart rhythms when a nurse at the Heart Center sent him to a restroom with instructions to remove the monitor and leave the premises.

The conflict arose because Langhans saw his Social Security number printed on a patient information printout as he was checking in, and asked a records clerk to remove it.

The Langhans take identity theft protection very seriously since their nephew’s identity was stolen from a credit application and used to fraudulently obtain credit cards and cell phone accounts. It took him a year to clean up the mess.

There’s already a “significant amount of evidence showing ID theft cases originate in medical offices,” according to a spokesperson for the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

More than 350,000 records are known to have been exposed already this year because of data breaches originating in hospitals and medical practices, according to the Clearinghouse’s Chronology of Data Breaches.

The Social Security Administration recommends asking the following questions when anyone requests your Social Security number:

What law requires that you divulge it?
Why do you need it?
How will it be used?
How will it be protected?
What happens if you refuse?

Fewer jobs means more medical identity theft

IdentityTheft — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:50:00 GMT

Why would your health insurer refuse to pay the bill for your appendectomy, claiming they’d already paid for one a month before? Why would your doctor prescribe a blood pressure medication though you have no history of hypertension? What if you receive a letter from a bill collector demanding payment for breast implants you’ve never had?

Any of these things can happen to victims of medical identity theft, and in Las Vegas police say it’s happening a lot, according to investigators with the city’s Metro Financial Crimes department. In fact, the valley police say they’re working right now on five recently reported cases of medical identity theft.

“I’ve had doctors call and tell me they don’t know who they operated on,” said Lt. Robert Sebby.

People who lose their jobs often lose their health benefits, but their need for health care doesn’t go away just because they’ve lost their ability to pay for it. And when illness and desperation converge, medical identity theft becomes a painful option.

Drug addicts and dealers find it easier to steal an insurance card than to rob a house and sell a stolen TV. Armed with a stolen insurance card, it’s easy enough to receive prescription drugs for painkillers or anti-anxiety drugs.

So, how can you protect yourself and your family from medical identity theft? Protect your insurance card the same way you do your credit cards:

Don’t carry insurance cards with you unless you know you’ll need them.
Check any statement of benefits with the same diligence you review credit card statements.
Ask your doctor at every visit to review your records for allergies, prescribed medications and recent visits.
If you find any irregularities in your benefits statements or medical records, contact your insurance company and the police.

Police searching for "Boob Bandit," ID thief

IdentityTheft — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:11:00 GMT

At Blogiversity, we work hard to keep you abreast of all the latest identity theft news. Today’s big story is about a woman who stole another woman’s identity to pay for breast implants and liposuction.

It started last September when the identity thief used the stolen identity to open a line of credit at the Pacific Center for Plastic Surgery in Huntington Beach California.

Employees at the medical facility identified Yvonne Pampellonne out of a photo lineup, and police are now looking to bust her. They've provided the photo below to augment their chances of apprehending her.

The staffers said Pampellonne lied to them and her doctor about her name and other personal information.

The employees became suspicious and called police when Pampellonne failed to come back to the clinic for her important post-operative follow-up appointments.

An arrest warrant was issued last week for Pampellonne's arrest on charges of commercial burglary, grand theft and identity theft. County records show the suspect has no criminal record, but was convicted of several traffic infractions, including driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license, and driving without proof of insurance.