Report: medical identity theft a growing problem
Medical identity theft is a problem and many individuals may not even know they’re victims, according to a New York Times report.
Fraudsters can steal a Social Security numbers or take medical insurance information and impersonate the policy holder. This is possible because most medical office don’t ask for identification beyond insurance information.
Consumers don’t have the same protection for medical identity theft that they have for traditional identity theft .
The Fair Credit Reporting Act enables consumers to obtain a free copy of your credit report each year, put a fraud alert on an account and have erroneous charges deleted from your record. Also, if your credit card is stolen and the thief goes on a spending spree, consumers aren’t liable for more than $50. With medical identity theft the fraudulent charges can remain unpaid for years damaging your credit rating.
Read the full story here. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/secureidnews-4.gif)
