Medical Identity Theft: What You Must Know
Medical identity theft takes place when an individual uses someone else’s confidential information for medical situations. Not only is this dishonest, but it can also be very hazardous.
Medical identity theft is seldom reported or investigated and that makes it less difficult for people to execute this kind of crime. If your medical records are compromised then it can have potentially fatal results. Whether it’s being given the wrong medicines or the wrong type of blood, this is one type of theft you can’t afford to permit to transpire to you or your family. In an emergency situation your medical records might be all the doctors have available to establish the correct treatment for you.
Tampering with your medical records could also prevent you from receiving life saving medications in the event of an urgent situation. This could be due to the fact that particular medicines can’t be given to people with particular conditions, and though you might not have that condition the person who has taken your identity does.
Health care providers may label you as a drug seeker due to the other individual’s medicines being confused as yours. If this takes place it may affect your ability to obtain specific drugs or you could even lose your job and be investigated by the police. If you work in the medical profession you might even lose your license to practice.
When somebody makes use of your information for insurance purposes it is considered to be insurance fraud. Not only can this impact your insurance premiums, however you might be responsible for co-pays or any bills not paid for by the insurance company. Here again your medical records are compromised as a result of the other person using your identity.
If you are unaware of the bills then your credit might be affected to the point of being ineligible for car and home loans and other credit related opportunities. You could even potentially be sued for the bills that were created in your name by another person. If you are sued then your pay might be garnished for something you had no awareness of. It could also make you lose job opportunities if the employer checks your credit score.
Another reason individuals commit medical identity theft is to acquire government benefits that are legally yours. This might include social security and disability. Once they are drawing these benefits it can be very hard to prove to the government that these benefits rightly belong to you and your family.
To avoid medical identity theft you need to be very careful about allowing anybody to have your private information, and always be familiar with what is in your records in the event of an emergency. If you need assistance then there are identity theft insurance companies that will guard your identity for you and inform you of any unusual changes.
Once your medical identity has been stolen it might take years to get things straightened out. You may incur legal fees and you’ll need to prove that you are the lawful owner of your own identity and not the individual who has stolen it from you.
