Medical Identity Theft
There are different types of identity theft. Medical ID theft is a new version of
the theft. It can leave victims, and the doctors and hospitals that provided the
care, staring at bills that are exponentially higher. Medical Identity theft can
be more difficult to recover from as well. It is a new and disturbing trend that
you need to be prepared to protect yourself against.
 
The thief is not always a sick individual in need of medical assistance. In some
cases it can be the physician working the loopholes in the system to bill for services
that were never performed. Organizes crime rings are also beginning to show up in
this area. Some of the rings will setup urgent care centers and will bill the insurance
companies for tons of money and then close up shop before the insurance companies
catch on.
One of the primary differences between medical and financial identity theft is the
difficulty in trying to straighten out your account. The Fair Credit Reporting Act
gives financial identity theft victims the right to see and try to correct mistakes
in their credit reports. Utilizing Identity protection services help to protect
against this theft. There are no such services provided for medical theft victims.
Certainly as the medical industry moves toward electronic records it will create
more problems in the beginning, but more importantly it will create the ability
to provide services like the Fair Credit Reporting Act and identity theft protection
services. Until that time comes consumers will have to be ever protective of their
medical information and ensure that they provide only the necessary information
to the correct people in the medical field.
Again the moral of this story is the same with all stories related to identity theft.
There is no one you can rely on to protect you other than yourself. You have to
be proactive and work just as hard as the thieves.
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