What to Do – Identity Theft

mortgage refinance    These days the internet provides a world of access to both entertainment and information. Instead of making a long trip to the mall or shopping outlet, you can browse the inventories of millions of different businesses right from the comfort of your own home. Many people now bank, invest, communicate and conduct business solely through the use of online features. While these new internet technologies are incredibly convenient, they can be dangerous when it comes time to think about how your personal information is being transmitted to all of these different outlets. Identity thieves are out there and can wreak havoc on your life, in the event of identity theft what to do is very important.

There are many resources available for knowing what to do in the event that identity theft occurs to you. First of all, you need to be able to spot the signs of identity theft in progress. Make sure that you are taking a regular look at your your bank accounts and credit card accounts. Review your statements once a month, even if you only get them online. Look for purchases or charges that are made outside the state where you reside, or that are from restaurants and businesses that you don’t normally patronize.

 juegos The next thing you know, you click on the link provide the required information and breathe a sigh of relief. So do the identity thieves who sent the email. They just caught you in their phishing trap.

However you saw this scam coming a mile down the road. Not today right? No problem as far as these online con artists are concerned. So the next time around they skip the phishing and go straight for its first cousin; commonly known as pharming.

real estate investing  The next identity theft what to do is to notify the local police and file a criminal report. Not every police department might have a specific report for identity theft, but you can always fill out a miscellaneous report. Be sure to bring documentation and dollar amounts with you when you do this. If you are travelling when the identity theft occurs, it is important that you report the occurrence to the local police force, as they will be responsible for the investigation. There are also some federal agencies that you can get involved if you don’t think the local investigation will be enough.

• Contact the health information manager, privacy officer, or anti-fraud hotline at the provider organization or health plan where the medical identity theft occurred.
• Request a copy of your medical records. If the provider organization or health plan refuses to give you access to your records, file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights or Health and Human Services at (866) 627-7748.
• Work with the organization where the medical identity theft occurred to stop the flow of incorrect information and correct the existing inaccurate health record entries.
• File a police report.
• File a complaint with the attorney general in the state where the medical identity theft occurred.
• Check with state authorities for resources.
• File a complaint with the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse operated by the Federal Trade Commission and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Contact the Department of Health and Human Service for Medicare or Medicaid fraud (800) 368-1019.
• Review health records to make sure they have been corrected prior to seeking healthcare.
• Change all personal identification numbers and passwords.

Once your medical identity has been stolen, your life becomes a nightmare as it is a life and death issue. All your energy is consumed with getting it back and it can take years. If you want to correct your record, you have to do it on a case-by-case basis as the wrong information may be in dozens of health care providers and insurance plan records. Until such time as all your records are corrected, you could be denied additional health, disability, or life insurance and your credit record could be permanently damaged.

I want to share with you the way I protect my medical identity and what kind of help I would get if my medical identity were stolen. I just love the Identity Protection Service I have as it monitors my social security number and medical insurance information every day for medical fraud, insurance and criminal records.

Hopefully if you are using online banking the financial institution is using a validation key verified by a trusted third party source. Check with the bank if you want to be sure.

After a three year decline, identity theft roared back to claim nine million victims in 2008. Even with the previous down turn, it remained the number one consumer complaint. With pharming on the loose it’s not too hard to figure out why You can be published without charge. You can to republish this article in your website or blog. Please provide links Active.