Didier Moujaes asked:


We are all aware of the rampant crime of Identity Theft. And if you are one of the millions who have had this happen to you and have had to unravel the tangles of trumped up credit card charges and worse, then you know how destructive this crime can be. But health insurers like Blue Cross and Blue Shield are reporting a rise in a new spin on the crime. Medical ID Theft; and it can have devastating consequences not only on your finances but also on your health.

Many people with health insurance fail to realize that their insurance card is as valuable, maybe even more valuable then their credit card. When it comes to paying for medical expenses, depending on the limits of your policy, a valid Blue Cross Blue Shield Card can be like holding a platinum Amex Card with A Million-Dollar credit limit. And if you are not aware of this be assured that thieves and unscrupulous medical providers certainly are. According to Byron Hollis, The National Anti Fraud Director with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, “It’s an old problem that people are becoming more aware of…” According to the World Privacy Forum since 2002 it has received more than 20,000 complaints of Medical ID theft, in ever increasing annual numbers. The most obvious way that medical ID theft occurs is if someone simply steals your insurance card and begins using it to procure medical services. This can mount up in a dangerous way, because again, most consumers are just not aware how important a lost insurance card can be, and will not report it immediately like they will a credit card. As the thief continues to rack up bills for illegitimate expenses the problem becomes twofold, not only in fraudulent charges being billed against your medical insurance policy, but the thief may confuse your medical history with their own, by ordering tests and medications that you do not require. This can have a serious impact on your future healthcare.

But perhaps more insidious is when the theft occurs when you use your health insurance benefits legitimately at the office of a medical provider and that information is lifted by an unscrupulous employee and sold on the open market. Many hospitals and HMO’s are implementing plans to fight Medical ID Theft, in the meantime if you want to be sure your information has not been hijacked, ask you healthcare provider for the most recent copy of your medical records, and ensure that all of the procedures, treatments and history of your conditions are indeed yours. Check all of your bills meticulously and look for any fraudulent charges. And protect your Health Insurance numbers and ID Cards just as you would your credit cards and Social Security Number.

If you suspect you have been a victim of Medical ID Fraud first contact your Insurance Company and ask to speak directly to their Anti-Fraud unit, then contact the police, and lastly you may want to contact your medical provider, but experts agree that since they may be involved in the crime, it is best to contact them LAST, after the police and your health insurance company so as not to tip the hand of the possible perpetrator.



Jim

Jack Wingate asked:


Identity Theft is a relatively new phenomenon.  Unfortunately, this new phenomenon is also highly misunderstood by the general public.  In Part One of our series on Identity Theft Protection, you learned some high level facts about Identity Theft and some various precautions you can take to guard your Identity.  While Part One gives some practical tips to reduce your exposure to Identity Theft, you must first gain a better understanding of what Identity Theft actually entails.

Identity Theft – It’s Not Just Financial

Unfortunately, most people believe Identity Theft is just about “Financial” Fraud.  The fact is, “Financial Fraud” accounts for approximately 30% – 40% of all Identity Theft.  While this form of ID Theft is the most obvious, it is also the easiest to discover and recover from.  Most financial institutions (Banks & Credit Card Providers) have systems in place to detect fraudulent activity on a person’s account.  These same institutions typically have “reimbursement” plans in place to return any funds taken from or charged against their customers’ accounts.  There are limitations and time constraints placed on these “reimbursements”, so it is imperative you read your financial institution’s policies as they relate to fraudulent activity.

While you know about Identity Theft with regard to Financial Fraud, you must also understand that the majority of Identity Theft involves theft for something other than Financial Fraud.  Let’s look at a break down of the Non-Financial Forms of Identity Theft:

Driver’s License Employment Government Medical (fastest growing segment)

Of course, you could potentially break down Identity Theft into many more segments and categories, for our purposes we will focus on these major categories.

Who Are The Victims?

According to a recent study, there were approximately 10 million victims of Identity Theft in 2008.  As should be expected, households with higher incomes were twice as likely to be victims of Identity Theft as low income households.  What may be unexpected is that those households considered to be “higher income” had household incomes of $70,000 or higher (that is only a man and wife making $35K each).

Discovery & Recovery

One of the disturbing facts about Identity Theft is that 38-48% of people discover the theft within three months and that approximately 18% of victims do not discover the theft until 4 or more YEARS have passed.  While identity thieves have access to advanced technology and systems to steal our identities, there are similar technologies and systems in place for the public to discover these thefts.  The problem is, the general public has been slow to adopt these strategies (the it won’t happen to me syndrome).

As disturbing as the previous statistics are, the most important statistics deal with the Recovery of one’s identity.  The average victim of Identity Theft (according to a 2004 study) spends 330 hours repairing the damage caused by a theft.  The vast majority of victims spend between 3 months to 1 year.  As we all know, time is precious.  The fact is the actual monetary loss resulting from an Identity Theft is only about $1,200.  The real cost of an Identity Theft is in the time spent recovering from a theft.  The math is simple, take your hourly wage rate and multiply by the time spent recovering your ID (example a person that make $30K per year earns approx $14.42 per hour / multiplied by 330 hours (average) equals $4,758).

Hopefully this article has given you an understanding about the types of Identity Theft as well as the cost(s) associated with a theft.  Combined with the knowledge gained in Part One of this series, you should now be prepared to determine if you need to look for “Insurance” and what “Insurance Plan” is best.







Ramon

homedocny asked:


I’ve been a victim of ID theft before and dont trust brokers, agents and online websites with these details they really dont need to give me a quote.

Tamara

Randy Vezina asked:


 

When a child is born, a parent may apply for a Social Security number for that child.  A child’s Social Security number is very much sought after by identity thieves.  The child identity thief could be a family member (uncle, aunt cousin), another adult who has access and is allowed in your home, someone who has stolen your mail or hacked into your computer.  We think we know who the child identity thief could be, but we don’t.

Most parents apply for the baby’s SSN so that they can claim the child on their taxes and you must submit the SSN on the official tax forms, so now, anybody who has the means to see that tax form can copy the child’s information.  The child’s identity could be stolen at the hospital or at a health professionals’ office.  What about the dishonest legal professional who sells the child’s identity to an unscrupulous client.  It does not matter what profession a person is in, they have the potential to be dishonest.

The thief could be anybody.  Typically, your not going to check your child’s credit rating (why would you), so your not going to know their identity has been stolen.  Now the identity thief has more than a decade to create a new identity for him and gain credit cards, loans, cell phones, utilities, bank accounts, drivers license etc. etc.  The crime is not discovered until your child has grown and applies for her first education loan, apartment, credit card or job!  By now, the trail has become ice cold and your child’s credit record has been cut to ribbons.  In all likelihood all of the accounts opened in her name have been purchased by a collection agency.

It would be very difficult for your child to repair what has happened because of the difficulty in tracking down the original loan applications and transaction records if the original account has been through several hands because of companies merging and being bought-up.  Our children need to be taught about the dangers of providing their personal information and your personal information when they are logged onto the net.  Today’s kids have a burning desire to log into the many chat rooms and social networking sites and they may be asked for personal information on a registration screen or by an identity thief.

The preventative identity theft company, LifeLock, has already launched the first-of-its-kind Children’s ID Theft Prevention Program.  Now, LifeLock’s subscribers can add the children’s ID theft program to their existing full suite of ID theft preventative services.  The children’s theft prevention program is for minors 16 years and younger.  A recent study in the state of Utah revealed that 1,800 Social Security numbers assigned to children 12 years of age and younger had been forged, according to the state’s Identity Theft Task Force.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has advised that between 5% and 7% of identity theft victims are under the age of 18 and if you include college-aged individuals, it is almost 20%.

“Due to the extreme increase in ID theft among minors, we have taken the initiative to develop a first-of-its-kind program to protect children,” said Todd Davis, CEO of LifeLock.  Tracking credit bureau activity and monitoring depository accounts are considered standard when dealing with identity theft.  But Davis insists that working with the Social Security Administration and identifying work activity from unusually young minors is a red flag that warrants further investigation. “LifeLock is in the process of working with local and federal agencies, as well as leaders in Washington D.C. to lead the efforts in protecting our children from identity theft. This is a critical aspect of our overall service,” continued Davis. “As the Utah investigation demonstrated, sadly, there are numerous victims yet to be discovered.”  LifeLock subscribers can pay $10 per year for the Children’s ID Theft Prevention Program through which LifeLock will regularly audit the credit bureau, monitor depository banking accounts, and track any unusual “work activity” with the Social Security Administration on behalf of LifeLock’s youth customers. All minors enrolled in the program will also benefit by LifeLock’s standard $1 million guarantee.

 

Do you want to learn about Identity Theft Prevention &

Loretta

bigfred1954 asked:


My bank has enrolled me into several
1. a discount travel agency
2. some sort of auto repair discount
I noticed this just recently , and thougt I was a victim of ID theft .
The thing is I did not authorize or sign or even recieve any membership notice nothing ! Both companys say my bank has done this but I did not authorize any of this .

Esther

Rae asked:


I’m scared of ID theft and want to get insurance for it but is it worth it?

Erica