Learning About Medical Identity Theft
Medical identity theft is the act of somebody utilizing your confidential information for their medical purposes. This is extremely dangerous and you need to be aware of the risks involved.
Medical identity theft is one of the least reported and investigated kinds of identity theft, yet it occurs astonishingly frequently. This is also among the most hazardous forms of identity theft because of the risk of somebody else’s medical records being used to care for another person. If the wrong medicines are given subsequent to an accident it can have lethal results. It could even possibly result in you being given the incorrect type of blood throughout an urgent situation if the other individual’s blood type is on record and does not match yours.
This could also preclude you from getting life saving medicines due to the other person’s medical records being mixed up with yours. They may have an allergy to the drugs or have a condition that prevents the hospital from providing it to you when it is necessary. This list of likely consequences is long and none of them are good.
Besides the medical factors it could even have an adverse effect on your job prospects. You could be labeled as a drug seeker which in some instances could keep you from obtaining certain jobs, particularly in the healthcare field. The hospital may also report you to the local law enforcement agency as a drug user, who may in turn investigate you for potential narcotic use.
This kind of identity theft can also take place in the form of insurance fraud. This is when a person uses another’s insurance to obtain medical care. Not only does this hurt you since your premiums might go up and you may be billed the deductibles, however your medical records may be compromised and incorrect information may be added to them.
If you don’t or cannot pay hospital bills that somebody else may have run up in your name then it can impact your credit rating and you could even be taken to court for these bills. This can affect your ability to get a car or house loan and may in some cases affect your employment. This means you could become stuck paying for someone else’s medical bills and you could even have your check garnished before you know what is taking place.
Another reason individuals commit medical identity theft is to obtain government benefits that are legally yours. This may include social security and disability. Once they’re drawing these benefits it can be very difficult to prove to the government that these benefits properly belong to you and your family.
There are a number of identity theft insurance companies available to help protect your identity. At the very least, if you do not want to go through a company, then you should always be aware of what is in your medical records and know what is in your credit report. You must also keep a close watch on your insurance and never let anybody have your private information.
Once somebody has taken your identity it can take years to put things back as they should be. You’ll possibly incur legal expenses plus you have the extra responsibility of establishing that you are the real person and not the one who stole the identity.
