Never return a one ring call to ascertain who called

The Medical Identity Theft Apocalypse

canada goose factory sale Criminal cyber attacks on health care information repositories have increased 125 percent since 2010. With the announcement of the Excellus breach last week, the total number of big headline medical information compromises reported in 2015 (such as Anthem, Primera, Carefirst) had crossed the mind blowing demarcation line of 100 million files. canada goose factory sale

Canada Goose Parka The Excellus breach exposed the names of clients as well as their dates of birth, Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, member identification numbers, financial account information and claim information. In terms of the type of information compromised and the amount of it, this most recent mega medical information breach, estimated to affect as many as 10 million consumers, was negligibly smaller than the Premera compromise, canada goose outlet price which exposed 11 million records. Yet it received nowhere near the same amount of media attention. Canada Goose Parka

buy canada goose jacket cheap The reason is something called breach fatigue. Sure, news of the Excellus breach was a lead story, but if you think about canada goose outlet uk it for a moment, was it the first thing people brought up at the proverbial canada goose outlet hong kong water cooler the day the news broke? Probably not. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Here’s why the Excellus breach should have had tongues wagging:

Canada Goose Outlet According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the medical/health care sector accounted for the highest percentage of breaches in 2014 at 42.5 percent. Canada Goose Outlet

As discussed in my forthcoming book, Swiped, medical identity theft can be life threatening. When your personally identifiable information is used by another person to acquire health care, your medical history is literally contaminated with the PII, and hence the medical information, of another person. If that mingling of data results in the removal of an allergy or a change of blood type, the result could put your life in jeopardy. Consider how serious that could be if the procedure you need (and can’t get because it’s already been performed on the imposter) happens to be something like bypass surgery, amputation, cancer treatment or any other major intervention. Open, canada goose outlet the upcoming third episode of “Fear the Walking Dead” I’m guessing the number of times that particular breach came up was low to nil. That’s fine. We’re not talking about breach fatigue per se. The real issue is that we need to raise and maintain awareness of the threat.

While you reflect upon the non discussions about last week’s Excellus news, consider how a person might reply to a “Howya doing?” greeting at the water cooler after learning that they have become the victim of medical identity theft. Most likely, they would say something about it. And dollars to donuts, canada goose outlet store toronto they would say they were in a waking nightmare.

Canada Goose sale How to Tell If You’ve Been Bit by the Medical ID Theft Zombie Canada Goose sale

Medical identity theft is hard to detect, and many people still alarmingly do not understand that it’s a real and present danger. We are in a similar situation with medical identity theft, but in the real world version, with vigilance on your part, you can better protect yourself.

Here are the telltale signs you’ve been infected.

canada goose uk outlet There canada goose uk site is an error on your medical file. While this can happen in the usual way even doctors make mistakes it could signal trouble. TIP: Many doctors canada goose outlet london uk provide online access to your medical records. If yours does, take advantage of it and make sure the information there is accurate. If you cannot access your file, ask your doctor to read it to you. canada goose uk outlet

canada goose coats on sale You receive phishing emails that refer to your health care provider or billing that require personally identifiable information to learn more. TIP: Always look up and call the main number of any entity that requests personally identifiable information. Only authenticate yourself when you are in control of the virtual or telephonic conversation. canada goose coats on sale

cheap Canada Goose You get one ring phone calls. TIP: If you do not recognize the number, let it go to voicemail. Never return a one ring call to ascertain who called, because these can also be scams that trigger a charge on your phone bill. cheap Canada Goose

Your Explanation of Benefits lists a doctor visit you didn’t make or a prescription that wasn’t issued to you. TIP: Read all your mail from health care providers, making sure that there is nothing in the correspondence that could point to fraud. If you suspect your information has been used, canada goose outlet kokemuksia call your health care provider immediately.

You are contacted by a debt collector regarding your failure to pay in a timely manner a doctor, laboratory or medical facility. TIP: Demand that the debt collector provides the details within five days and canada goose outlet in montreal immediately contact the medical provider and your insurer.

Canada Goose Jackets Your credit score takes a sudden dive due to a medical collection that mysteriously appears on your credit report. TIP: You can get a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (or more frequently, depending on the state where you reside). Schedule time to check those reports for any suspicious items, like collection accounts https://www.goosecanada.ca that might not really belong to you. Canada Goose Jackets

While we may not be looking at a canada goose outlet store calgary medical identity theft “apocalypse” a la the zombie shows, movies and comics, medical identity theft can definitely feel apocalyptic when you’re the victim. Protect yourself, know the warning signs and you just might stand a chance.

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