December 1, 2011 – Facebook’s privacy policies and tools have been a bit of a running joke and a regular topic of conversation among the privacy advocates that I know. The company has repeatedly changed its policies without notification to users and without seeking user permission. And those changes got the company in hot water with the FTC, which claimed that they violated the FTC Act by making false promises to consumers to keep their information private. This week, the FTC and Facebook settled their case. As a part of the settlement, Facebook is going to find the FTC looking over the company’s shoulder for the next 20 years.

Read article in the LA Times at:http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/29/business/la-fi-facebook-privacy-20111130

Facebook and Privacy and the FTC — LA Times originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on December 2, 2011.

Facebook, Identity Theft and Signing off-forever originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on November 29, 2011.

Have you thought about the fact, when you apply for a new job that an employer will do a background check? What if someone has taken your identity, found a new job and now erroneous information has been posted? Don’t forget, that employer may also check you out on Facebook, LinkedIn or your blogs.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FACT Act) is the law that lets you obtain a free credit report from the three credit-reporting agencies every 12 months. You may not know that the FACT Act also lets prospective or current employers gather information about you for background checks. This is a a great tool to know what they’re seeing about you – and to check for signs of possible identity theft.

Some credit reporting agencies and investigation companies compile what is known as “investigative consumer reports”, which are used in limited circumstances such as background checks for employment, insurance policies, and rental housing. These reports do not contain information about your credit record that is obtained directly from a creditor or from you. (For example, it won’t have information about a late payment).

Federal law requires your current or prospective employer to get permission from you to conduct the report. The good news is that if the information in the report is used by the employer to make a negative hiring decision, the employer must give the applicant a copy of the report.

We suggest that you be proactive and get a copy of this report once every 12 months, for free, just like your credit report. You can check it to see if someone else with your name has a work history that may be confused with yours, or may be a result of identity theft. You also have the right to correct and dispute inaccurate information in an investigative report, just as with your credit report.

To order your report, check out the LexisNexis Employment History Report. There’s no guarantee that LexisNexis has a file on you however; as it says on its website, “our files would only contain information on you if LexisNexis provided your Employment History Report to an employer.”

Ordering is easy. Call 866-312-8075, Sunday through Friday, to start the automated process. You must give your Social Security number, current street number, zip code and date of birth for the report to be started. Have a pen and paper ready to write down the report tracking number, in case you need to call and follow up. If you’re not comfortable giving information over the phone, you can instead download and send in a report request.

Information courtesy of Debix Newsletters

Employment Identity Theft originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on August 17, 2011.

WASHINGTON – Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS. The operation announced today is the largest federal health care fraud takedown since Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations began in 2007.

The joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing. More than 360 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in today’s operation.

“Our continued Strike Force operations reflect the unprecedented commitment that inspired the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team in May 2009,” said Attorney General Holder. “With today’s arrests, we’re putting would-be criminals on notice: Health care fraud is no longer a safe bet. The federal government is working aggressively – and collaboratively – to pursue health care criminals around the country and to bring these offenders to justice.”

“Today’s arrests send a strong message that attempts to defraud Medicare will not be tolerated,” said Secretary Sebelius. “With the help of new tools in the Affordable Care Act, including stiffer penalties and better information sharing, we will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to stamp out Medicare fraud and protect beneficiaries and the American taxpayer.”

Charges were unsealed today against 94 individuals who are accused of various Medicare fraud-related offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, criminal false claims, violations of the anti-kickback statutes and money laundering. The charges are based on a variety of fraud schemes, including physical therapy and occupational therapy schemes, home health care schemes, HIV infusion fraud schemes and durable medical equipment (DME) schemes. Thirty-six defendants charged in these schemes have been arrested in Miami, New York, Baton Rouge and Detroit and additional arrests are expected throughout the day.

According to the court documents, the defendants charged today participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and oftentimes, never provided. In many cases, indictments and complaints allege that beneficiaries accepted cash kickbacks in return for allowing providers to submit forms saying they had received the treatments that, in reality, were unnecessary or never provided. Collectively, the doctors, health care company owners, executives and others charged in the indictments and complaints are accused of conspiring to submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program.

In Miami, 24 defendants were charged for allegedly participating in various fraud schemes that led to approximately $103 million in false billings. According to court documents, the fraud schemes involved fraudulent billing for HIV infusion services, home health care and physical therapy services, DME and pharmaceutical medications. The defendants include owners and operators of companies, doctors, nurses, and patient recruiters, as well as a medical biller who is alleged to have billed approximately $49 million for fraudulent services.

Thirty-one defendants were charged in Baton Rouge for various schemes allegedly involving fraudulent claims for DME totaling approximately $32 million. The defendants include the owners and operators of nine different purported medical services companies and four doctors, 14 patient recruiters and other individuals who allegedly worked at the medical services companies.

Twenty-two defendants were charged in Brooklyn for their alleged participation in schemes to submit fraudulent claims totaling approximately $78 million. These fraud schemes involved false billing for physical and occupational therapy and DME. The defendants include the owners and operators, patient recruiters and employees at three different purported medical clinics and a medical equipment company, as well as three doctors. According to court documents, six of the defendants charged are serial Medicare beneficiaries, who purported to seek medical treatment from numerous providers, causing the submission of multiple claims to Medicare for purported medical treatments.

In Detroit, 11 defendants were charged for their alleged roles in schemes to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for home health services, nerve conduction tests and injection and infusion therapy sessions. The schemes involved a total alleged fraud of approximately $35 million and five different purported medical services companies.

Four defendants were also charged in Houston for their alleged roles in a $3 million scheme to submit fraudulent claims for DME.

In addition to making arrests around the country, law enforcement agents are executing search warrants in connection with ongoing health care fraud investigations.

“Today’s charges allege attempts by individuals to defraud the Medicare program of $251 million,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. “Countless Americans rely on Medicare for their well-being, and the FBI, working in conjunction with our federal agency partners, is resolute in its commitment to stop those who would illegally manipulate the system.”

“Today’s arrests illustrate how health care fraud schemes can replicate virally and migrate rapidly across communities,” said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS. “To combat this fraud, the government’s response must also be swift, agile, and organized – a HEAT initiative goal which is well illustrated by today’s Strike Force actions.”

The Strike Force operations in Miami, Baton Rouge, Brooklyn, Detroit and Houston are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The HEAT task force, co-chaired by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr, is made up of top-level law enforcement agents, prosecutors and staff from both departments and their operating divisions. In the May 2009 announcement, Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius announced the expansion of the Strike Force into Detroit and Houston to build upon existing partnerships between the agencies in a heightened effort to reduce fraud and recover taxpayer dollars. In December 2009, Strike Force operations were expanded to Brooklyn, Baton Rouge and Tampa.

Since its inception in March 2007 with Phase One in South Florida and continuing through its most recent expansion into Tampa, Fla., the Strike Force has obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by Strike Force teams comprised of attorneys from the Fraud Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of New York, the Middle District of Louisiana, the Eastern District of Michigan and the Southern District of Texas; and agents from the FBI and HHS-OIG.

The Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management-Office of Inspector General also participated in today’s operation.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

To learn more about the HEAT team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Department of Justice News and Strike Force Update Charges 94 doctors for $251 Million in Alleged False Billing originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on July 28, 2011.

Doctor Pleads Guilty to Billing Medicare and Medicaid for Counseling Sessions with Dead Patients
Dr. Williams Claimed $2 Million in Phony Health Treatments, Saying It Was Group Therapy
U.S. Attorney’s Office June 06, 2011

Northern District of Georgia (404) 581-6000

ATLANTA—ROBERT WILLIAMS, 72, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court on two counts of health care fraud as part of a scheme to bill for group psychological therapy that WILLIAMS never provided.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “With so many elderly citizens and others who need specialized psychological care, this defendant ignored his duty as a doctor and became a billing machine who claimed to treat patients who were in fact dead. This blatant attempt to rip off the system took funds and care away from real live patients with real problems. Medicare and Medicaid need all the money they can get for legitimate patient care and this physician will get none of that money.”

“This case sends a strong message that Medicare and Medicaid fraud will not be tolerated in Georgia,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens. “At a time when our state budget is heavily strained, every dollar intended for the needy must reach the recipient. We will continue to work with our partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI, to weed out fraud in Georgia.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “Dr. Williams had for years, enjoyed a position of trust within the medical and health provider industry. He chose to abandon that trust and instead displayed a level of greed that will not be tolerated. Medicare fraud should be promptly reported to the nearest FBI field office so that the much needed federal health care benefits will be there for those individuals who truly need them.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: WILLIAMS was a licensed physician, practicing in the Atlanta area. From approximately July 2007 through October 2009, he contracted with a medical services company to provide group psychological therapy to nursing home patients in a variety of nursing homes. Under his signature, thousands of claims were submitted to Medicare and Georgia Medicaid seeking reimbursement for group psychological therapy that WILLIAMS purportedly provided to beneficiaries at several nursing homes in the Atlanta area. In many instances, however, WILLIAMS did not actually provide the therapy.

Specifically, from July 2007 through October 2009, Medicare claims data indicated that over 55,000 claims were submitted using WILLIAMS’ provider number for group psychological therapy. Those claims sought reimbursement for over $2,000,000, and ultimately caused Medicare to reimburse WILLIAMS over $750,000. For the same time period, over 40,000 Medicaid claims were submitted by WILLIAMS for group psychological therapy, causing Georgia Medicaid to pay out over $225,000.

An investigation of WILLIAMS’ claims showed that, in many cases, he sought payment for services provided to beneficiaries who were deceased at the time he purportedly rendered the care. In two cases, the patient died over a year before he was allegedly seen by WILLIAMS in the nursing home. Numerous claims were submitted to Medicare and Medicaid for group psychological therapy when the beneficiary was hospitalized at the time of service and, consequently, could not have received care at the nursing home as represented.

WILLIAMS was indicted on February 22, 2011 on 10 counts of health care fraud. Today WILLIAMS pleaded guilty to two of those counts. He could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing has been scheduled for August 23, 2011, at 11:30 a.m. before United States District Judge Richard W. Story.

This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kurt R. Erskine and Nick Oldham, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Nancy Alstrom from the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, are prosecuting the case.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

Identity Theft of the Dead originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on June 10, 2011.

How to Spot Job Identity Theft Scams
How can you be sure job postings are legitimate and not job identity theft scams? Ask yourself these questions before you apply:

• Does the company have a Web site?: If not, or if the information doesn’t match the company’s description on the jobsite, you should be extremely cautious. Although not all companies have Web sites, most do, and you can get a feeling for the company by visiting the site. Does it look professional? Does it have contact information? Another simple research tool is simply to use Google to see what search results reveal for the company (if they exist!)
• Does the company ask for money to submit an application?: If you’re asked to pay anything before you can get information on the job, it’s probably one of the many job identity theft scams. This is especially prevalent in work-at-home jobs. Just remember that legitimate employers will never charge to hire you.
• Does the company have references?: They work both ways. If you’re unsure whether an employer is legitimate, ask for references. Most companies will be happy to provide you with them.
• Does the company make financial promises?: This is another favorite tactic of job identity theft scams. If a job listing guarantees financial success in a short period of time, you can bet they’re trying to drain your bank account in a short period of time.

Another easy way to spot job identity theft scams is to contact the Better Business Bureau to see whether the company has a high or low rating, and whether any suspicious activity has been reported.

How to Avoid Job Identity Theft Scams
Job identity theft scams are rampant online, so you have to be vigilant. Use common sense and follow these tips to prevent your identity from being stolen by unscrupulous identity thieves posing as employers:

• Social Security number: A common job identity theft scam is asking you to provide your Social Security number before you’ve even had a face-to-face interview. Don’t fall for it. A scammer will ask for your SSN under the guise of needing to perform a background check, but a legitimate employer can’t legally do a background check until after the interview.
• Financial information: Never provide any financial information, such as your bank account, until you’ve been hired. These types of job identity theft scams are made under the pretenses that the employer needs your financial information to perform a credit check. Not true. A legitimate employer can do a credit check with just your name, address, and Social Security number.
• Online forms: Be very careful when completing forms for online job applications. These forms make capturing sensitive information easy for job identity theft scams. If you’re completing an application online, make sure the Web site is both legitimate and secure before providing personal information such as your Social Security number or driver’s license number.
• Email: When communicating with an employer, always ensure the emails originate from the company’s email address, not a personal address. Legitimate companies will always send official communications through their company email address. Many job identity theft scams involve identity thieves using personal email addresses to impersonate representatives from a legitimate employer.

Want to learn more about preventing ID theft and avoiding job identity theft scams?
Contact The Identity Advocate at 310.831.4400 or via email at info@theidentityadvocate.com.

Don’t be a Victim of Job Identity Theft Scams originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on June 7, 2011.

The IRS and 10 things they want you to know about Identity Theft originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on April 15, 2011.

Preventing medical ID theft has become a hot topic as Americans increasingly hear about the safety of their private medical records as more medical breeches continue to be discovered. Medical ID theft happens when a person uses someone’s identity to obtain medical services or steal money by falsifying claims for medical services. Identity thieves use a person’s Social Security number, insurance information, or other forms of identification to commit the medical ID theft.

Medical ID theft can have a devastating effect on victims, causing collections issues, credit problems, and even bankruptcy. But that’s not all. The type of medical treatment obtained by the identity thief can also prevent the victim from getting medical insurance or medical services themselves because, as far as the insurance company is concerned, the victim now has a “pre-existing” condition.

According to the FTC, medical ID theft accounts for three percent of all ID theft cases, or approximately 250,000 cases per year. Unfortunately, these medical ID theft statistics are expected to grow, especially with the shift to electronic medical records.

Preventing Medical ID Theft: The Unemployed and Uninsured
Due to their difficult circumstances, some groups are at a higher risk for becoming identity thieves. The unemployed and uninsured may use another person’s identity because of a belief that it’s the only way they can receive quality medical care. Since they’re unemployed, they don’t have access to an employer’s healthcare benefits, and they can’t afford to buy medical insurance because they don’t have a job. It’s a vicious cycle, and it can make good people do bad things.

Preventing Medical ID Theft: Illegal Immigration
Illegal immigration also poses a serious threat as medical ID theft continues to rise. When an illegal immigrant steals private information such as an individual’s Social Security number, he or she can obtain identification and numerous services reserved for legal residents. If precautions aren’t taken to prevent medical ID theft, an illegal immigrant can get a passport, driver’s license, bank account, credit card, loan, mortgage, insurance, medical treatment, and many other services.

Preventing Medical ID Theft in Five Steps
Begin preventing medical ID theft by following these five easy steps:
1. Have your Social Security number removed from your insurance records. If your Social Security number is currently on your insurance card, don’t carry your card with you. Keep it in a safe place and only carry a photocopy with all but the last four digits of your Social Security number blacked out.
2. Obtain copies of your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records. Lock them in a safe or safety deposit box, or place them on a CD or flash drive.
3. Next, regularly review your credit reports, insurance claims, and medical records for suspicious entries, such as a medical treatment that was never performed on you.
4. Immediately address disputes on your explanation of benefits, bills for medical services you never received, or any other charges that could be sent to collections and damage your credit. These need to be investigated and removed from your records.
5. Don’t leave a paper trail. Destroying sensitive information you no longer need is another critical step in preventing medical ID theft, so shred claims that are more than seven years old. Also, ask if your provider’s office performs background checks employees to prevent medical ID theft rings and stolen medical information.

Preventing medical ID theft takes vigilance. Medical ID thieves are doing everything to stay one step ahead of you and the authorities, so use medical ID theft prevention strategies to protect your private information.

Want to learn more about preventing medical ID theft? Contact The Identity Advocate at 310.831.4400 or via email at info@theidentityadvocate.com.
Visit us online at www.theidentityadvocate.com.

Medical Identity Theft: Will you be the next victim? originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on April 13, 2011.

Geotagging or how thieves found their way to your house originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on February 22, 2011.

Smart Phone Applications can Compromise Your Privacy! originally appeared on The Identity Advocate on February 21, 2011.