ID Theft – iDefend https://www.idefendhome.com Ultimate Protection for Your Digital Life Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:15:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://www.idefendhome.com/wp-content/uploads/cropped-idefend-favicon-32x32.png ID Theft – iDefend https://www.idefendhome.com 32 32 7 Steps to Help Prevent Home and Auto Title Theft https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/identityandfinancial/7-steps-to-prevent-home-title-theft/ Mon, 19 Aug 2024 22:23:44 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=7071 Home or auto title theft can be devastating, fortunately there are steps you can take to help prevent it. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about title theft and how you can better protect yourself and your loved ones against it.

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Cyberhood Watch >

Creative,Art,Collage,Of,Hand,With,A,Key,And,House.
  • 7 Steps to Help Prevent Home and Auto Title Theft
Home or auto title theft can be devastating, fortunately there are steps you can take to help prevent it. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about title theft and how you can better protect yourself and your loved ones against it.

In this article

Home and auto title theft have emerged as some of the newer forms of identity theft. These crimes can lead to devastating financial losses and legal battles for unsuspecting victims, who often remain unaware until significant damage has been done. Understanding the mechanics of these crimes and taking proactive measures to protect your assets is crucial in safeguarding your property and financial well-being.

What You Need to Know About Title Theft

Home title theft, also known as deed fraud, involves the fraudulent transfer of property ownership. Once the fraud has taken place a thief can take out loans against your home, sell it, or use it for other nefarious purposes. This happens when a criminal gains access to your private information and signs a deed transfer or other real estate documents.

Auto title theft occurs when a criminal steals the title to a vehicle, allowing them to sell it, use it as collateral for loans, or commit other fraudulent activities without the owner’s knowledge. This is done by a thief stealing your personal information and creating a duplicate title.

While home and auto title theft can cause significant damage and financial loss it’s a crime that is not very common due to difficulty. Many times even if a criminal is able to pull off the successful theft of your title they are eventually caught and your finances and title end up okay. However, if you prefer to not gamble with the small odds of financial destruction, then you should consider taking extra steps to prevent home and auto title theft or get expert help to undo the damages if something were to happen.

7 Steps to Help Prevent Home and Auto Title Theft

While it is not completely possible to prevent home or auto title theft, there are things you can do to help prevent it from happening. Here are the steps we recommend.

1 – Regularly monitor your property records: Check your property records with your county recorder or land registry office to ensure no unauthorized changes have been made.

2 – Keep your vehicle title in a safe place: If a criminal gets their hands on your vehicle’s title it makes it very easy for them to make a duplicate title and commit fraudulent activities. Prevent this by storing your auto title in a secure spot.

3 – Secure your personal and financial information: Keep your personal information, such as your social security number, financial details, and property documents, secure and private. Avoid sharing sensitive information online or over the phone unless absolutely necessary and with trusted entities. You can also consider subscribing to an online data removal service to limit the amount of your personal and property information floating around on the web.

4 – Be cautious of unsolicited offers: Beware of unsolicited offers to buy your home or refinance your mortgage. Scammers often use these tactics to obtain your property details. Be sure to verify the legitimacy of any offers through independent research or by consultation with a trusted professional.

5 – Monitor your credit report for unusual activity: Check your credit report frequently for any unusual activity. If you do notice suspicious activity, get in touch with the credit bureaus and look into legal action if necessary.

6 – Use a homeowner’s insurance policy that includes coverage for title fraud: Some insurance policies offer protection against title fraud, providing financial and legal support if you become a victim.

7 – Get title theft protection: Consider subscribing to a title protection service to assist with title theft recovery should this ever happen to you. iDefend offers full title theft recovery and up to $1 million dollars in coverage for lawyers and experts, stolen funds, and expense reimbursement if necessary.

By following these steps, you can significantly reduce the risk of home and auto title theft and protect yourself and finances from fraudulent activities. 

Don’t Want to Face Title Theft Alone? iDefend Can Help

Good news for current iDefend customers – you are covered against title theft. Watch for alerts and sign into your iDefend account to make sure all your monitored information is up to date.  

Everyone needs a personalized protection and support service for the digital age. But not everyone has the time or expertise to do so. iDefend protects your asset titles, removes your personal and property information from the web, while protecting your identity, your money, and your credit.

Learn more and get protected today with iDefend. Try it risk free and save 30%.

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]]> A.I. Can Copy Your Voice https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/onlineprivacy/aivoicecloningscams/ Thu, 02 May 2024 16:51:19 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=3689 For several years now, AI has been employed to maliciously copy and replicate real people's voices in order to scam and trick loved ones and friends.

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Cyberhood Watch >

ai-stockphoto
  • A.I. Can Copy Your Voice
For several years now, AI has been employed to maliciously copy and replicate real people's voices in order to scam and trick loved ones and friends.

In this article

Scams aren’t going anywhere. The trouble is, they’ve morphed from the Nigerian Prince’s gold bouillon into a mysterious phone call from what sounds like your terrified daughter in the clutches of some vile kidnappers.

Voice cloning scams have already caused countless damage in financial losses, as well as other damaging experiences such as sextortion and blackmail. It’s sobering to think of how much more these will grow given a few years.

The unfortunate part is how easily these scammers can steal small clips of your voice and use AI software to extrapolate that into even full-blown conversations! With all the advancements in AI, gone are the days of simply recording you saying “Yes” and playing that behind a clip of someone asking for your permission to do something nefarious.

The good news is there are several things you can do to help prevent this from happening to you, as well as what things to be vigilant for if you encounter one of these scams in the wild.

How to Spot the Scam

By far the most common use of this scam is to solicit money from friends and family members. Because so much of our lives are accessible via a quick online search and on social media, it’s not difficult for a scammer to assemble a basic digital profile of a potential victim.

Because of this, you’ll want to be especially wary of any phone calls you receive that sound like someone you know asking you for unusual amounts of money.

Examine the phone number

This is one of the first things you should do when you get one of these calls, but take a look at the phone number. Chances are, you won’t have it saved in your phone, and it may even have the wrong area code. When in doubt hang up.

Verify with the real person

When this does happen, the best thing you can do is to immediately hang up and call that person directly yourself. Of course, if circumstances allow you could also pay them a quick visit in person. Simply ask them to confirm whether or not it was them that called you.

If they have no idea what you’re talking about, immediately block and report the number from which you received the phony call.

Pay attention to tells

If you are otherwise unable to contact your acquaintance and verify anything, pay attention to anything in their voice or speech patterns that sounds unusual. Sometimes, an AI clone will subtly give itself away.

How to Stop the Scam

The following are things you can do to safely limit your exposure to these scams. Remember that just because a scammer can copy someone’s voice doesn’t automatically earn them any money; someone has to fall for it first.

Don’t answer unknown calls

This one may be hard for some of us who grew up before smart phones and caller ID were widespread conveniences. Nowadays, sadly, it’s all too common for unknown numbers to be spam, robo, or scam calls.

The simplest way you can avoid most phone scams is to simply not answer calls from unknown numbers.

Get into the habit of following up with those you call

Put yourself on the other end of these calls for a minute. Let’s say you are dialing a new friend or acquaintance and they haven’t yet saved your number. If they, too, are following best practices, they should ignore your call and let it go to voice mail.

When this happens, you should leave them a quick message, but another thing you can do that’s often even faster is to send them a simple text message. Just let them know it was you who called and you’d like to speak with them when they’re available.

We know this step may seem innocuous or mundane, but it’s actually a great habit to get into since the vast majority of people will check a text message much sooner and faster than a voice mail.

Verify with the real person

Yes, this is the same suggestion as before, but it holds just as much weight being listed here as well. It’s always good to verify with the real person before sending them money.

Save numbers in your phone

For anyone you know and trust, save their number in your phone. This will spare you the trouble of having to play “phone tag” and will give you more peace of mind knowing that you are talking to the real person.

Be extra cautious

Even if you’ve saved someone’s number, always remember to be cautious and verify with them before sending money. Scammers steal billions of dollars every year, and this number will only increase as technology gets better, so please be cautious and safeguard your money.

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]]> Child Identity Theft Is a Problem You Can’t Ignore https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/familysafety/child-identity-theft-is-a-problem-you-cant-ignore/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:52:31 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=5001 A recent study released by the Carnegie Mellon CyLab revealed that children are 51 times more likely to become a victim of identity theft than adults. 51 times!

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Cyberhood Watch >

child-id-theft
  • Child Identity Theft Is a Problem You Can’t Ignore
A recent study released by the Carnegie Mellon CyLab revealed that children are 51 times more likely to become a victim of identity theft than adults. 51 times!

In this article

More than 1.25 million children became victims of identity theft in the last year according to a study by Javelin Strategy & Research. The actual number is likely much greater because in many instances child identity theft is not discovered until they reach the age of 18.

Why Child ID Theft is Dangerous

The theft of a child’s identity causes major problems for the child as they grow up, and it has become a big national problem. A recent study released by the Carnegie Mellon CyLab revealed that children are 51 times more likely to become a victim of identity theft than adults. 51 times!

Synthetic ID Theft

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said that “synthetic identity theft” is the fastest growing type of identity theft and that children are the most common victims of this type of crime. Synthetic identity theft occurs when a criminal combines real and fake information to create an all-new identity to take out loans, purchase goods, or fraudulently obtain credit cards.

These fake ID’s often use just the child’s Social Security number combined with a bogus date of birth, name, phone number, and address of someone else. Criminals can use this synthetic ID as their own for years without anyone catching on to their scam. They can build a credit profile, get a cell phone account, get loans, get a job, and apply for government benefits. They can also make big purchases like a car or a boat.

It causes problems down the road

When the child victim grows up and applies for their driver’s license, their first credit card, or applies for college, they are shocked to find out they’ve already got a credit profile, outstanding loans, and maybe even a job history with W-2s. They may have had tax returns filed in their name for years. Their credit could be a complete mess that takes years to fix. And in a worst-case scenario, they could have a criminal record, liens, or judgments against them.

Before this nightmare scenario plays out for your child, here’s what you can do.

Limit Sharing Your Child’s Information

Guard all personal information about your child carefully on social media, with doctors, and with schooling. Try to limit the places that have your child’s Social Security number. Push back on requests for your child’s personal information. You have every right to ask what why they need the information and what they’ll do with it.

Become familiar with the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act which helps you protect the privacy of your child’s school records and enables you to opt out of information sharing by the school with third parties.

Freeze Your Child’s Credit

You also should freeze the credit reports of your children. Until 2018 there was no national law that allowed the credit reports of children to be frozen, but in the wake of the major Equifax data breach, Congress passed new laws that now permit children’s credit reports to be frozen and unfrozen for free.

Here are the links to information about how to freeze your child’s credit reports at each of the three major credit reporting agencies:

Experian

TransUnion

Equifax

Monitor for Child ID Theft

With such high risks for children, you should strongly consider having an ID theft monitoring and protection plan in place for your child until they turn 18. (At that point, they should have their own monitoring and protection in place.) You should be proactively monitoring at least the dark web, the USPS address change database, utilities and public records databases for the fraudulent use of your child’s data.

Affordable protection for your child

Find a good family plan like our iDefend family protection platform that does this type of monitoring for your children. A little extra vigilance and protection goes a long way to safeguarding your child’s personal information and their financial future!

Worried They’re Already a Victim?

If you believe your child has already had their identity stolen, notify each of the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion of the crime and ask them to investigate and remove the false information from yours and your child’s files. Then freeze your child’s credit reports, and be sure you have proactive ID theft monitoring in place for your child going forward.

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]]> Should I Be Worried About Home Title Theft? https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/identityandfinancial/hometitletheftworried/ Thu, 22 Apr 2021 17:10:37 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=5429 Could an identity thief steal your house? The short answer is yes, but you should know the details first before you start worrying too much.

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Cyberhood Watch >

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  • Should I Be Worried About Home Title Theft?
Could an identity thief steal your house? The short answer is yes, but you should know the details first before you start worrying too much.

In this article

The idea that someone is trying to steal the title to your home is horrifying. Imagine a thief forging your signature and secretly taking over the deed to your residence, and then actually taking out a fraudulent home-equity loan – against your equity. To give you some peace of mind, here is what you should know about home title theft, the chances of it happening to you, and what you can do to protect yourself.

What is home title theft?

Home title theft, also known as title fraud, happens when a criminal scours publicly available electronic property records to find a home that has accrued equity. Most frequently, they track down ownership of a home that’s either empty, a second residence or one occupied by an elderly resident.

The thief creates a new identity with supporting documentation like fake ID, Social Security card, and other personal identifiers. This is followed by the criminal forging the homeowner’s signature onto a fraudulent bill of sale and transfers legal ownership of the house to themselves. Home title theft is a new type of identity theft that also involves more serious forgery, real estate and mortgage crimes punishable with up to 10 years or more of prison time.

What happens if I become a victim?

Once the home deed is in the criminal’s name, they can take out home equity loans and disappear with the money, leaving the homeowner with the bill. Unfortunately, most people don’t find out that title theft has occurred until they receive a foreclosure notice in the mail from the bank holding the bogus home loan.

There are a few signs of potential title theft problems you can watch for including:

  • You stop receiving bills at your residence
  • Rising utility bills at vacant or second homes
  • You stop receiving tenant rent payments
  • Mortgage information from a lender you’ve never done business with
  • New loans or lines of credit in your name
  • Notice of foreclosure

 

If you suspect you have a home title theft problem, you’ll want to immediately call the mortgage lender and title company involved to identify and correct the problem. That will get the ball rolling.

Is home title theft a big problem?

You may hear blaring advertising on radio and TV telling you the home title and mortgage fraud is the fastest growing crime in America. It’s creative marketing, but at best this is very misleading as to the scope of the problem. There are very few statistics available for home title theft cases.

The FBI estimated a couple years back that 9,600 U.S. homeowners were victims of title fraud. That’s a microscopic percentage – slightly more than 0.0001% of the roughly 87 million U.S. homes owned. It was a cause of concern and gained attention because it was declared a new type of identity theft. To date, the Federal Trade Commission still does not report on home title theft cases.

So, does home title theft happen? Yes. Is it likely to happen to you? No. Is stealing a title and taking money from a fake home equity loan as easy as forging title documents on your home? No, because it involves obtaining and transferring a title or deed, deceiving a title company, plus county recorders of deeds as well as lenders, each of whom have several layers of protection in place.

All that said, home title theft is a new form of identity theft. Victims likely have larger identity fraud problems to deal with including compromised computers, email and social media accounts, legal battles, and a ruined credit profile.

Does home title insurance protect me?

Yes, but only if you’ve opted to purchase “owner’s title insurance” at your home closing. Owner’s title insurance is a one-time fee often included with closing costs when you buy your home. If you opted in on an owner’s policy title insurance, you’re covered.

Don’t confuse this with “lender’s title insurance” required by mortgage lenders at closing to assure them the property is free and clear of liens or claims before loan closing.

Do advertised “Title Lock” programs actually protect me?

Not really. You cannot technically “lock” your home title, and these programs are not title insurance policies. What they offer is periodic monitoring to alert you to after a change of deed has occurred – after your identity has been stolen and title fraud is already in full motion. They also talk of helping reclaim ownership of your home. The reality is, you never lost ownership of your home. A crime has been committed. You have an identity theft case, and a criminal legal battle to prove you did not sell your home and take out that loan.

You’ll need identity, credit and cybercrime fraud experts working on your behalf. Protecting against potential cases of home title fraud requires a much more comprehensive protection plan than the advertised title lock services.

What can I do to prevent this?

  • Check your home title records. In most counties, you can access the county property ownership records online free of charge. If available, register for your county’s consumer notification service, which signs you up for alerts any time a document is recorded on your property.
  • Use a licensed title agency. When purchasing a property, be sure to use a reputable, licensed title company.
  • Purchase “owner’s title insurance”. Consider purchasing this at closing to protect against any claims or liens against your property now and in the future.
  • Watch out for new or missing bills. When utility bills and other statements start disappearing or changing randomly, your identity and your home title could be at risk.
  • Monitor your credit. Look for mortgage or home equity loan inquiries or activity you don’t recognize. Sign up for a premium ID theft and credit monitoring service to ensure you are always on top of changes to your credit.
  • Evaluate your security practices. Home title theft is a digital crime. It’s a very good idea to make sure you are properly protected with your computers, mobile devices, passwords, financial accounts, and social media. If you aren’t super cyber-savvy, consider having security experts do a full cybersecurity checkup for you and your family.

The bottom line

There’s no need to pay additional or separately for a home title protection service. The best thing you can do to protect against this and all other forms of identity theft and cybercrime is to invest in a comprehensive personal and home cyber protection plan like iDefend that includes personalized, one-on-one expert service.

iDefend covers home title theft and all other forms of cybercrime and identity fraud. Discover a powerful new way to protect yourself and your family against all cybercrime, identity theft and online privacy risks in a single protection plan – with iDefend.

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]]> Top 10 Ways to Prevent ID Theft https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/identityandfinancial/10waystopreventidtheft/ Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:09:06 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=5142 If you aren’t concerned about ID theft and protecting your personal privacy, maybe you should be.

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Cyberhood Watch >

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  • Top 10 Ways to Prevent ID Theft
If you aren’t concerned about ID theft and protecting your personal privacy, maybe you should be.

In this article

The number of identity theft cases reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) increased 100% in 2020, double the number from 2019. Statistically, you now have a 1 in 4 chance of becoming a victim of identity fraud and cybercrime each year.

The good news is, you can take control of your privacy and help prevent identity fraud with these simple protection tips.

Our Top 10 Tips to Prevent ID Theft

1. Protect your social security number.

Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Whenever you are asked to provide your Social Security number (or for your child), ask why a Social Security number is necessary and how the information will be protected once it’s been provided.

2. Monitor your credit.

To make sure nobody has opened up new accounts under your name, you should check each of your credit reports at least yearly. You can get your free Experian, Transunion and Equifax credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. Better yet, subscribe to a 24/7 credit monitoring service like iDefend so you can be notified in real-time of any changes to your credit profile.

If you notice fraudulent credit activity, dispute it with the lender and the credit bureau. Also, consider requesting a fraud alert with the bureaus or freezing your credit reports if you’ve been victimized.

3. Don’t take the phishing bait.

Fraudsters “phish” and catch victims by pretending to be a trustworthy bank, store or government agency. Most commonly, they do this over the phone, in e-mails, but can also use regular mail. Do not respond to any request to verify your account number or password. Legitimate companies do not request this kind of information by email or phone. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and never give out your personal information unless you made the contact.

4. Safeguard your personal information online.

Like most people, you probably share personal information like name, birthday, job, school and hometown on your social media profiles. Unfortunately, if a cybercriminal wanted to collect information about you, social media is going to be their first stop. Try not to share any personal information, especially email addresses, birth dates, children’s full names and other data that can be used for identity theft.

Check your social media account privacy settings and make sure you are not publicly sharing too much information. You can lock down your profiles and safeguard your accounts from things like account takeovers.

Children under the age of 18 are often the target of child identity theft because their credit score is completely unmarked. Posting information about your children on social media, even if it’s just their full names and birthdays, is just as dangerous as posting your own.

5. Secure your computer and smartphone.

Cybercriminals look for easy prey – especially personal computers and mobile devices that are not well-secured. At a minimum, protect your computer and smartphone with good antivirus and spyware protection. Be sure you update this security software regularly. There are excellent free antivirus programs that will do a great job for you. You may want to use an antivirus app for your smartphone also, especially if you have an Android device.

Beware of fake apps and downloads. Download only from sites you know and trust. For your smartphone, stick with the Apple App Store and Google Play.

To protect your privacy while web browsing and shopping, consider doing your web surfing in incognito mode or with other tools to prevent tracking. Also consider using a web browser built for privacy protection such as DuckDuckGo.

Finally, update your phone or computer software when prompted. It’s an annoying fact of life, but hackers exploit security flaws in phone and computer operating systems in order to break in and steal personal and financial information.

6. Use strong passwords.

Scammers have gotten good at guessing passwords using publicly available information and social media profiles such as pets, children, etc. To help minimize the damage, create a unique, strong password for every online account.

The FBI and National Institute of Standards and Technology recommend creating passwords with at least 15 characters because these are more difficult for a computer program or hacker to crack. Mix it up with capital letters, numbers, and symbols. Because it’s almost impossible to remember all your passwords, you could use a password manager such as LastPass to securely store all of them.

If a website or app offers it, set up two-factor authentication. This requires you to provide a second piece of information to verify your identity when logging in such as a code sent to your mobile phone or email. If your password is ever stolen, a criminal can’t get into your account without your smartphone, voiceprint, or fingerprint.

As for account security questions, the FTC advises selecting questions that only you can answer, instead of information that could be available online like your ZIP code, birthplace, or mother’s maiden name. Also, don’t give generic responses, such as “cookies” as your favorite dessert.

7. Click with caution.

When shopping online, check the security of a website before entering your credit card number or other personal information. Do not sign up or order from sites that do not have a secure checkout process (“https” in the address bar and a padlock symbol at the bottom of the browser window.)

8. Review your accounts regularly.

Check your monthly bank and credit card statements for fraudulent activity. A thief with your card or bank account number often makes small charges to see if they can get away with it. These transactions easily slip through the cracks without financial institutions noticing them.

Also be sure to check medical bills or statement of benefits. If someone is using your healthcare information to commit medical identity theft and run up bills in your name, this is the only way you’ll be able to find out and prevent the damage from getting worse.

9. Opt-out of pre-screened credit offers.

Identity thieves can intercept pre-approved credit offers whether mailed or emailed to open new accounts in your name. Shred these offers when you receive them rather than throwing them in the trash.

The safest way to avoid identity theft exposure from pre-screened credit card offers is to opt out of receiving them through optoutprescreen.com, the official consumer credit reporting industry website for opting out.

10. Don’t fall for phone scams.

Con artists, posing as a legitimate business, government agency, law enforcement or charity, trick unsuspecting people into giving up personal information and hard-earned money with scam phone calls. Never give personal information over the phone unless absolutely necessary, and don’t ever give it out unless you initiated the phone call.

If someone contacts you and says they are calling from someplace like your bank, credit card company, Microsoft, or the IRS, ask for a number to call them back—and then make sure it’s really an official number.

Then look them up online and call the organization’s customer service number before you give any information. Also, ask how the information will be shared with others and request that the information be kept confidential.

Getting Expert Help

If you are unsure of how to best protect against ID theft or want the help of security experts to stay safe, consider subscribing to our iDefend service.

You’ll be protected with the latest in identity protection, cybersecurity and online privacy tools together with the help of our U.S. based cyber support team. We are dedicated not just to protecting you against identity theft but safeguarding you and your family against all of today’s cyber threats.

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]]> Medical Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself https://www.idefendhome.com/blog/identityandfinancial/medicalidentitytheft/ Tue, 15 Oct 2019 19:02:24 +0000 https://www.idefendhome.com/?p=3609 Your medical information is a goldmine for cyber criminals and fraudsters. Unfortunately, medical identity theft affects millions of Americans every year, and it can wreak havoc on your finances and even your health.

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Cyberhood Watch >

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  • Medical Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself
Your medical information is a goldmine for cyber criminals and fraudsters. Unfortunately, medical identity theft affects millions of Americans every year, and it can wreak havoc on your finances and even your health.

In this article

Your personal medical records may not be as safe as you might think. A quick internet search for “medical data breaches” will pull up dozens of sobering results. It seems like every year more and more firms succumb to their own folly as their inferior cybersecurity is inevitably breached by yet another hot-shot hacker.

Then, of course, the pilfered data is happily bought and sold on the dark web. You might wake up one day to a large medical bill for drugs you never purchased. Or you could rush your local clinic for a life-saving blood transfusion only to discover that your blood type has mysteriously changed to “O negative”.

Oh, that’s not your blood type? Well, actually it is… at least according to what it now says on your medical file, anyway.

How’s that sound for a Friday morning?

What is Medical ID Theft?

Medical identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information, electronic health records or insurance information and uses it to get medical treatment, equipment and prescription drugs in your name. This could leave you footing the medical bills and even mixing their health records with yours. In fact, according to a recent study from the Ponemon Institute, medical ID theft victims spend nearly $13,500 on average to deal with the problem, including paying off fraudulent medical bills.

With continual cyber-attacks and data breaches among both healthcare providers and health insurers, medical identity theft will most certainly claim millions more victims. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The Real Dangers of Medical ID Theft

Victims of medical identity theft have similar outcomes to other types of identity theft, such as ruined credit, but can suffer even more devastating consequences. Victims can have medical insurance claims denied, lose access to their insurance, and be forced to pay to restore their insurance coverage. If thieves max out benefit thresholds on an insurance policy, policyholders could find themselves unable to get timely coverage for urgent treatments.

Increased insurance prices

An affected individual might see the cost of their insurance increase or may be denied coverage altogether if the fraudulent treatment included care for things like diabetes, osteoarthritis, or cancer. They may be unable to access their own medical records. ID theft victims could end up with a flag in the system triggering regulators or even law enforcement to track them down over charges they’d illegally purchased prescription drugs.

Incorrect data records

When medical identity theft results in erroneous medical records, the consequences can even be life threatening. Drug allergy warnings or other special medical conditions may be deleted. Previous medical procedures can be erased. Blood types can be changed in the patient’s medical records, endangering the life of the ID theft victim should they need a blood transfusion. These potential health risks alone are reason enough for consumers to be vigilant and get protected.

A foot in the door for criminals

Of course, the theft of medical records also gives thieves access to your other personal and financial information including Social Security number, date of birth, and bank or credit accounts. Victims of medical identity fraud often find themselves also fighting other types of identity theft including credit fraud, Social Security fraud, tax return fraud and more.

Look Out for Red Flags

There’s a lot you can do to keep an eye out for signs of medical identity theft. Here are a few red flags you should watch for:

  • A bill for medical services or equipment you don’t recognize
  • Double billing charges on a medical bill
  • Mistakes on your medical history
  • A call from a collection agency about a medical bill you don’t owe
  • Denial of insurance due to a medical condition you don’t have
  • A letter from your health insurer notifying that you have reached your benefit limit

Friendly Fraud

While many thieves obtain the victim’s medical information in the typical pattern of hacking, phishing, stealing mail or copying your records at a clinic or other facility, about half of all medical identity theft happens among family members.

Ponemon study

The Ponemon study revealed that 24% of medical identity theft victims said a family member took their medical credentials and used them without permission. Another 23% said they willingly shared their health insurance information to help a family member or friend obtain medical care.

In the study, most of the people who shared medical info did not consider it a crime, but it’s still considered fraud against medical insurers and health care providers. Sharing Medicare or Medicaid information with someone else to help them obtain coverage is also a state and federal crime.

5 Tips for Protecting Yourself

While it can be difficult to protect your information from being exposed in a data breach, there are ways to lower your risk.

  1. Ask about security practices. Inquire how your doctor’s office, hospital and insurance company protect your personal information. They are required to safeguard your data – and you have the right encourage privacy by asking how they protect you.
  2. Secure your copies. Store any paper and electronic copies of your medical and health insurance records in a safe place. Shred or burn health forms, insurance and prescription papers.
  3. Be suspicious. Don’t fall for online or phone scams for things like “free” medical quotes, products or services. Don’t share personal or medical information online or over the phone unless you initiate the conversation.
  4. Review your medical records. Carefully read through your insurance statements and medical records for anything you don’t recognize.
  5. Monitor for ID theft. Many medical ID theft cases are first detected with identity theft and credit monitoring where you’ll be notified of collection notices for unpaid medical bills and other signs of ID theft.

Get Expert Help

If you know that your medical identity has been stolen, you can start taking steps on your own to work through it. Those steps can include requesting copies of your medical records, which might require paying a fee, and asking medical providers to correct false information. The Federal Trade Commission offers a helpful checklist of steps to take when working through medical identity theft on your own.

Protection plans exist

However, expert help is available to monitor for medical identity theft – and recover from it with minimal damages and downtime. You may choose to enroll in a trusted identity theft protection plan to help monitor for suspicious activity, including medical ID theft. These plans also include professional recovery and restoration services to rely on in the event you ever suspect you might have a medical ID theft problem.

How iDefend can have your back

Of course, what kind of company would we be without tooting our own horn a little? Our iDefend Advisor team is trained to assist with all types of identity theft, including medical identity theft. Learn more about our identity theft protection and recovery.

Keeping watch over your medical information, credit report, financial statements and insurance statements may not prevent all cases of medical identity theft, but staying vigilant and proactively monitoring for problems can help you notice fraud faster and take action quickly to correct it.

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