What Is Medical Identity Theft?

Medical identity theft occurs when a person uses someone else's information for medical purposes. Not only is this illegal but it can also be very dangerous.

Medical identity theft is one of the least reported and investigated forms of identity theft, yet it occurs surprisingly often. This is also one of the most dangerous forms of identity theft due to the risk of someone else's medical records being used to treat another person. If the wrong drugs are given during an accident it can have fatal consequences. It could even possibly lead to you being given the wrong type of blood during an emergency if the other person's blood type is on record and does not match yours.

Tampering with your medical records could also prevent you from obtaining life saving medications in the event of an emergency situation. This could be due to the fact that certain medications cannot be given to people with certain conditions, and though you may not have that condition the person who has stolen your identity does.

Other consequences may be that you could be labeled as a drug seeker due to the medications given to the other person. This could affect your ability to obtain prescriptions for certain medications and you could be reported to the authorities as a drug user. It could even affect you job if physicals or medical information is required for employment.

This type of identity theft can also occur as insurance fraud. This is when a person uses another's insurance to obtain medical care. Not only does this hurt you because your premiums may go up and you may be billed the deductibles, but your medical records may be compromised and wrong information may be added to them.

If you don't or can't pay hospital bills that someone else may have run up in your name then it can affect your credit rating and you could even be sued for these bills. This can affect you ability to obtain a car or house loan and may in some instances affect your employment. This means you could get stuck paying for someone else's medical bills and you could even have your check garnished before you know what is going on.

If someone uses medical identity theft to obtain government benefits then it could mean that you cannot draw those benefits for yourself if they are needed. This includes disability and social security income that rightfully belongs to you and your family.

You should always do everything you can to protect yourself and your family from medical identity theft. Whether it is going through an identity theft insurance company that helps to protect your identity or simply checking your credit scores and asking for copies of your medical records periodically, it is well worth the trouble or possible expense you may incur to avoid a potential disaster.

Once someone has stolen your identity it can take years to put things back as they should be. You will possibly incur legal expenses plus you have the added responsibility of proving that you are the real person and not the one who stole the identity.