The Birmingham news (http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/05/pleasant_grove_man_sentenced_t.html) reported that a Pleasant Grove man received six years in prison for HIPAA violations. Included in his crimes was aggravated identity theft and disclosures. These violate the HIPAA regulations.
Identity theft with regards to healthcare information is on the rise. There is a lot of value in stealing an identity to get healthcare. If you could do that for someone under 18, then you might have several years before they actually notice. Kids generally do not need to check their credit ratings until they get that first credit card in college. BY then the thief could have racked up a lot of charges on that identity.
Using healthcare access can allow the thief access to drugs which are then resold. In this case the thief used the stolen identity to cause the prescription drug plan to pay for $72,746 in drugs.
The Obama Administration announced a cyber security plan recently. Does it take into account the rise in identity theft? Are government agencies actively trying to find solutions? So far the answer seems to be No.
Regards
Gary Bahadur
blog.kraasecrity.com
Related articles
- ID Thief Sentenced to More Than 16 Years in Prison (pcworld.com)
- Identity Theft Protection Guide (personalfinancenewsandtips.wordpress.com)
