Scam of the day – November 1, 2024 – Healthcare Data Breach Affects 100 Million People

Steven Weisman, Esq.

2 years ago

Data breaches are all too common and according to a 2023 report by IBM healthcare companies account for approximately 27% of all data breaches. Healthcare companies are targeted for a number of reasons including the general lack of security of many healthcare companies and the extensive personal and medical information they store including health insurance information that can be sold by criminals on the dark web for large prices enabling other people to access your health insurance. Having your health insurance policy used by an identity thief is particularly dangerous because it can result in your medical records being corrupted by the medical information of the identity thief and the difficulty in getting this information removed from your medical records. Having the medical information of an identity thief on your medical records could even result in your getting a blood transfusion of the wrong blood type.

Recently Change Healthcare disclosed that it had suffered the largest data breach of health care information in American history. A hundred million people were affected by this data breach.

TIPS

As for the victims of this data breach, the first thing they should do is freeze their credit if they have not already done so. Freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do. It is free and easy to do. In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number. If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies. Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:

https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html

Everyone also should monitor their credit reports regularly for indications of identity theft. The three major credit reporting agencies now provide free weekly access to your credit reports so you can monitor your credit reports easily on your own. Here is the only link to use to get your free credit reports.https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Some scammers have websites that appear to offer “free” credit reports, but if you read the fine print, you often may find that you have signed up for unnecessary services.

Finally, be wary of anyone who calls you asking for personal information in regard to this data breach as that is a favorite tactic of the hackers to lure you into providing personal information that can lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft.

You also should check to see if your medical records have been corrupted by an identity thief. If you were affected by this data breach you should get a copy of your medical records from your doctor, health insurance company and any other facility that has treated you. Review your records for data that does not apply to you and report the errors to your health care provider and demand that the false information be removed.

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