Trend: Identity thieves get better at stealing medical records

Recently, identity thieves have become increasingly focused on stealing medical records--and have begun using better methods to get patient data, too. Medical records offer a rich trove of information for an identity thief, often including not only health insurance account numbers and billing addresses, but also dates of birth, Social Security numbers and even credit information. Given the richness of patient records, thieves may make more money stealing them than they would by going after credit card numbers or bank accounts directly. Worse, the thieves are getting more skilled at such thefts. While providers often encrypt their data, thieves often work with insiders who can help them break through these security measures. Concerned about this trend, California and Arkansas now require that consumers be notified when their medical data is accessed, and federal legislators are considering a measure instituting similar requirements.

To learn more about medical record theft:
- read this USA Today article

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