Addressing Identity Theft

There were 106 million individuals that had their data compromised by the Capital One credit card breach. A smaller number, 140,000 customers, had their Social Security numbers swiped. In 2017, the Equifax breach impacted 147 million people.

Due to the rise of data breaches and medical identity theft, healthcare employees are at a heightened risk of having their personal data stolen. In order to assist with this growing issue, some guidance around identity theft is offered below:

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a great resource for finding information about identity theft. If you get a notice that says your personal information was exposed in a data breach, you lose your wallet, or learn you have an online account hacked, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself. The FTC also provides a 40-page Recovery Plan that provides steps to follow if there is a breach.
• You can now see if you’re eligible to submit a claim to recover money from the 2017 Equifax breach. The FTC stated that Equifax has agreed to pay at least $575 million and up to $700 million to help compensate victims of hackers who stole personal data from Equifax servers.
• You may want to look at an Identity Theft insurance plan. Plans like this can proactively monitor your data for misuse of compromised Personally Identifiable Information, including name, address, date of birth and Social Security number. If fraudulent activity has been detected, a Remediation Specialist works directly with you to restore your identity and absolve you of any responsibility. Some plans also offer lost wages, legal fees, medical records request, etc. if your identity is compromised. ​

If you are interested in Identity Theft Insurance, you can contact Joel Hull at LMC Insurance and Risk Management at joel.hull@lmcins.com. Policies for identity theft generally cost less than $2.50 a week for an individual. If you are in the Human Resources Department of a hospital you can ask about getting a complimentary Compromised Credential Report. This report will let your hospital know if anyone’s company email was compromised so that you can take corrective action.

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