Medical ID Theft - Fastest Growing forms of ID Fraud

An article from a paper in Greenville, SC reports:

"Medicaid beneficiaries whose personal information was breached in April have a week left to sign up for free credit monitoring.

The breach affected 228,435 beneficiaries, or about 20 percent of the Medicaid population. No private medical records or financial information was involved, officials said.

Affected beneficiaries were given the option of having credit monitoring services to protect their personal information. 

So far, more than 14,733 beneficiaries have enrolled, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. That option ends on July 31.

A former state employee was arrested and charged by the State Law Enforcement Division in connection with the incident. 

Medical identity theft is one of the fastest-growing forms of identity fraud, with more than 5 million people affected in 2010 alone, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services."

This is one of the many articles seen recently that highlight "Medical ID Theft" as one of the worst kinds of Fraud. Medical ID Theft is where your Medical information, medical id cards, etc. are stolen to assist the perpetrator to gain access to medical services at the hospital, clinic or doctor's office.

Your medical information, including blood-type and allergies are kept in a repository, similar to a credit repository, called the MIB, or Medical Information Bureau. When another person, with a different blood-type or different drug allergies uses your identity to get medical services and their information is posted to your profile, it corrupts the information stored there.

When you need medical assistance, and that information is accessed, you could be at risk of receiving the wrong blood type or a drug that you might be allergic to. This Article outlines the seriousness of Medical Identity Theft: Medical Identity Theft can Kill you

For more information contact Alan Smith at http://www.legalshield.com/idt/asmith