Identity Theft: Paper Documents and Medical Identity fraud
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Paper document identity theft is still the most common way that criminals obtain your personal information. People you know, theft of a purse or wallet, mail theft, and dumpster diving are all ways that people can steal your personal identity from papers with your personal information.
Paper document identity theft can be achieved through many different avenues and the best way to protect yourself from this type of identity theft is to just be aware of the people around you and keep track of all documents containing personal information, such as: tax documents, driver's license's, credit cards, social security cards, bills and mail.
People you know can be a large factor in this type of identity theft. In struggling times, people are capable of so many things. Roommates are probably most notorious for identity theft, because they have no deep personal connection to you like family does. While a roommate lives with you they have access to your mail, purse or wallet, and they can watch and see where you keep personal documents. It would not be difficult for a roommate to assume your identity after only several months of living with you and then quickly moving out. To protect yourself from this, lock personal documents away, monitor your mail, and never leave your purse or wallet out in the open.
Homeowners are just as likely to have these problems as well, whether it be because of poor choice in friends, or family members who steal from you.
Theft of a wallet or purse can take hours to realize sometimes and the hours are precious. A skilled criminal can spend thousands of dollars in just a few hours using the items in your wallet or purse. To protect yourself from this type of theft, always know where your wallet or purse is located. To minimize damage, if you cannot prevent the theft, only carry one or two credit cards at a time (lock the rest away in a locked filing cabinet or safe at home), never carry your social security card in your wallet or purse and do not keep pins or passwords in your wallet or purse.
If your wallet or purse is stolen, immediately cancel your credit cards (as soon as you notice the theft). Next, file a police report (do this before you even return home if you can). After filing a police report, contact one of the three credit bureaus and notify them of the theft, and ask them to place a fraud alert on your credit report. The initial alert will be placed for 90 days, you can later change that to an extended fraud alert if necessary.
Mail and trash is another way that criminals can obtain your personal information. If you own a mailbox without a lock, think seriously about purchasing one with a lock. Most criminals who steal mail are looking for boxes of checks sent to you by the bank, or credit and debit cards, but the least harmful piece of mail can still give criminals information about you. Almost every piece of mail has your name and address, which a criminal can use to redirect mail using a change of address form at the post office. If a criminal changes your address to collect your mail, they could come into contact with bank statements, check, personal letters, bills, etc.
Another harmful avenue is throwing mail in the trash. Most of us don't think that throwing away credit card offers could hurt us in anyway, but it very well could. Dumpster diving is a less popular form of identity theft but still probable. People who dig through your trash to find personal documents such as bills, credit card offers, or half filled out applications can put enough information together in just a short time to assume your identity. To protect yourself from this kind of theft, invest in a paper shredder. They are relatively inexpensive. Shred any document that has your name, address, phone number, social security number, bank information, driver's license number, etc.
Another type of identity theft these days is medical identity theft. Medical identity theft means that a criminal is using your personal information or insurance information to obtain prescription drugs, medical procedures or treatments. Both these types of theft can leave your credit in shambles, and make it hard for you to refinance your home, get a loan, or even get your medical prescriptions without being questioned.
Medical identity theft is a twist on traditional identity theft. When someone else is using your personal information or insurance information for medical purposes this is medical identity theft. One example of this is when a person with a history of drug use, uses your name and insurance information and gives birth to a new born baby, the baby tested positive for methamphetamines. You then receive a phone call from child services saying that your children will be taken from you because of this incident, but you did not recently give birth to any child. Another example of medical identity theft is when a person assumes your identity to have a surgery performed. You later receive a bill from the hospital for some large amount, for this surgery that you never had performed on you. This type of identity theft can have a huge impact on your life and can take hundreds of hours to recover from.
Medical identity theft could also mean a dishonest medical employee is using your insurance information to submit false bills. Monitor your bills closely and be sure that you understand what services you are paying for when you receive a bill. If you do not understand the services the medical institution is charging you for, call and ask for an explanation. If you receive a bill for services not performed call your medical institution immediately and report the fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns consumers that they may be a victim of medical identity theft if:
You get a bill for medical services you did not receive
A debt collector contacts you about medical debt you don't owe
You order a copy of your credit report and see medical collection notices you don't recognize
You try to make a legitimate insurance claim and your health plan says you've reached your limit on benefits
You are denied insurance because your medical records show a condition you don't have
To minimize your risk of medical identity theft the FTC recommends that you:
Verify a source before sharing information
Don't give our personal or medical information over the phone unless you initiated the contact
Be wary of the "free" health services or products (follow the simple rule, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Know your doctors and nurses (people can pose as a doctor or nurse to get your insurance information)
To learn more about old fashioned identity theft and medical identity theft visit www.ftc.gov.