Why Fraudsters Want To Steal Your Medical Records

Security experts say cyber criminals are increasingly targeting the $3 trillion U.S. healthcare industry to obtain large amounts of personal data found in medical records. The data for sale includes names, birth dates, policy numbers, diagnosis codes and billing information, and it may be up to 10 times more valuable than credit cards, which tend to be quickly canceled by banks once fraud is detected.
 
Fraudsters use this data to create fake IDs to buy medical equipment or drugs that can be resold, or they combine a patient number with a false provider number and file made-up claims with insurers. Adding to the problem, medical identity theft is often not immediately identified by a patient or their provider, enabling criminals to use the data for years.  
 
Learn more:

• http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cybersecurity-hospitals-idUSKCN0HJ21I20140924
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2015/12/31/data-breaches-in-healthcare-total-over-112-million-records-in-2015/#5a1947377fd5
• http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/12/hospitals-arent-the-only-ones-bleeding-stolen-health-records/420636/