Health Care Identity Theft

November 13, 2008 – 11:01 am

When people think about identity theft most people imagine someone applying for a credit card and spending a lot of money. Others might image them getting a drivers license and committing crimes under the umbrella of their identity. What if identity theft meant getting medical treatment with your identity? Medical identity theft can be very dangerous, as some have learned.

What if someone stole your identity and then went to the hospital to get medical attention. The hospital would start to record the thief’s medical conditions, blood type, medications and allergies that don’t match that of the actual person. This can cause potentially deadly situations when it comes to treating the actual person.

Let’s say you need to go to the hospital because you were in a car accident. They need to give you blood and they happen to have your file but it’s really that of the identity thief. They think it’s you so they start pumping blood into you that’s the same as the person who stole your identity. If it’s the wrong type of blood it could potentially kill you.

This is the kind mix-up that can cost you your life as well as the hospital money in a malpractice lawsuit. This kind of identity theft would be most unfortunate, but some people do it to themselves. It’s well known that some people will lend their insurance card to a friend without insurance. This can work the same way and is illegal. The medical and health care community is searching for ways to prevent something like this from happening.

Most insurance companies don’t put a picture on the insurance card, which can be problematic if someone is trying to steal your identity. Most health care businesses will require a second form of ID like a drivers license in order to receive treatment.

LifeLock is the leader in identity theft protection. They can prevent someone from using your personal information to steal your identity. If you would like a discount on a lifelock membership use LifeLock promotion code, Defense

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