Here we go again. The Federal Trade Commission on May 28 announced it would delay enforcement of the Red Flags Rule from June 1 to Dec. 31, 2010. Is this the result of all the doctors protesting the changes required by their offices or is it just the unnecessary inconvenience. If you have ever had your identity stolen or your medical identity compromised it is a detriment for you financially and your for health records and various treatments, due to HIPAA. Read the HealthData Management article at: http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/ftc-red-flags-rule-enforcement-delay-40345-1.html?ET=healthdatamanagement:e1288:44339a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HDM_Alert_052810.

Now the scary part is the number of breeches of unsecured protected health information that have occurred. See the list of hospitals and practices at: http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/issues/18_5/list-of-breaches-40158-1.html

More worries about the security of patient information and private medical data with the onset of Electronic Healthcare Records. Read the article available at:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/survey-personal-health-information-less-secure-2010

Five ways you can help prevent your child’s identity from being stolen.

1. Think first before you post. Guide children to share only the information that they wouldn’t mind sharing with strangers and their friends. Make them aware of identity theft – in their language – so they think before sharing nuggets of information that might be useful to an i.d. thief. By the way, how many of us post things about our kids, and family online? Before you go announcing your sister’s new baby on your social networking site, in email, on a blog, etc. consider the information you might be making available for thief. (Remember: place of birth and date of birth is all they need to become a new person.)

2. Don’t use your children’s real names. Wherever possible, enforce the use of code or nick names instead of a child’s real name online, whether for establishing an email address, registering on a kid-friendly website (to use the games, for example), or for setting up a profile on a social networking site.

3. Use privacy settings. For social networking fanatics, make sure only the people you know and trust can see what you’re posting and doing.

4. Use reputable, up-to-date security software. While identity theft can happen through offline sources as well as online, having good, updated security software will help prevent information-stealing software from getting onto your computers or smart phones in the first place. Use security software on any device that you store personal information on.

5. Shred and lock. The ITRC recommends that you shred all documents that contain personal information (whether about yourself or your children) and lock your mailbox if you can.

If you are resident of the U.S. and believe you or your child has become a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for free assistance at:

(888) 400-5530

You can also find additional resources and prevention tips at www.idtheftcenter.org

Watch YouTube and see how devastating Medical IdentityTheft can be to you, your records and your family:

There is a new search engine out there called ‘not your grandmothers phone book’….www.Spokeo.com. It will find pictures your friends and associates in your email lists, they may have posted on their sites, and their social networks. It is a reverse phone directory but with so much more. More of your privacy at risk!

Watch this “Youtube” video so find out how easy it is to gain personal information from the coy machines built since 2002. They have a hard drive to store infomation, but to buy an encyrption package is an extra $500.00, so most users do not do it. These machines for resale come from everywhere and go everywhere including overseas.
It begins with a bit of advertising but be prepared to be amazed at what you hear and see.

Despite new regulations in the HITECH Act, data breaches and medical identity theft remains at critical levels throughout hospitals in the U.S., where 83.6 percent of providers have data breaches every year, according to a report from identity theft prevention contractor Identity Force. To find out how rampant this is read astounding article at: http://www.cmio.net/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=21866&division=cmio

Emergency alert, the IRS will never send an email. Review article and suggestions for preventing any IRS scammers and identity theft — http://www.emergencyemail.org/newsemergency/anmviewer.asp?a=498&z=43

Pharmacy Fraud, specialty drugs, and six Miami residents conspiring to bill Medicare. There were also alleged kickbacks paid to the Medicare beneficiaries as well. See Fierce health care article at — http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/press-releases/six-miami-residents-charged-13-million-health-care-fraud-scheme?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

Now that April 1 is here the Census forms are due. Remember, a few of the following guidelines:
The census people are NOT coming to your home until May 1 to July 1. Anyone knocking your door now is a potential scam artist. They will arrive if you have NOT filled out your census form and returned it; or have not filled it out correctly.
There are only 10 questions to answer.
They are not to ask for Social Security Numbers, or bank information.
Do not invite them into your home.
They will have a badge, and carry a black bag with US Census Bureau on it.
Check the web site for further details: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/index.php.
If you have NOT received your census form by April 12, call one of the toll free assistance lines:
* ENGLISH – 1-866-872-6868
* Chinese: 1-866-935-2010
* Korean: 1-866-955-2010
* Russian: 1-866-965-2010
* Spanish: 1-866-928-2010
* Vietnamese: 1-866-945-2010
* TDD (Telephone Display Device for the hearing impaired):
1-866-783-2010
* Puerto Rico (in English): 1-866-939-2010
* Puerto Rico (in Spanish): 1-866-929-2010

Census Bureau Call Center

General Telephone Lines: 1-800-923-8282