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Medical Identity Theft and the Harm That It Can Cause You

There are many ways in which identity theft can be carried out. Your credit cards can be used, your social security number could be stolen to get a job, your bank account and credit record could be used for loans and mortgages and so on. And there is the medical identity theft, which involves the use of your name and medical insurance info for fraudulent activities.

Some Examples of Medical Identity Theft

1. Cashing in the medical insurance – you find yourself in an emergency where you have to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention. While filling out the formalities you are informed that, your insurance has just been cashed in and that your present procedure cannot be covered anymore under it. Stunned, you try to remember whether you had indeed anything to do with any hospital or medical procedure in the recent past and come up with nothing. You are a victim of medical identity theft.

2. You are hospitalized for some reason or other and your records show high abuse of controlled substances. You are put under observation and you are in danger of being reported and treated for drug abuse, when tests reveal that you have a clean chit, everyone realize that you have been a victim of medical identity theft.

3. You are a doctor and all of a sudden, you find yourself under strict scrutiny and investigation. Later you find that your prescription paper has been used to gain access to extremely dangerous drugs. It takes a great deal of effort and perseverance to clear your name from this type of a problem. You are a victim of medical identity theft.

4. A close relative is dead. However, you find that all of a sudden that the person is “alive” since there are bank transactions in his/her name, and other signs that he/she is alive. This happens when a person manages to obtain the last medical records form the hospital where a people die, and by clever manipulation, the person can take over the deceased identity. This too can be termed as a medical identity theft.

Like this, there are many ways and instances where the medical identity can be stolen. It usually happens when you give easy access to outsiders to medical bills, medical appointment cards, and medical records by leaving them in full view of strangers – for example on your study table. At that time, it may take anyone only a few seconds to note the essential details and then cash on it through medical identity theft.