Customers of Network Health in Menasha, Wisconsin should be extra wary of identity fraud — especially medical identity fraud — for the foreseeable future.
The Fox Cities-based health insurance provider claims no personal financial information was exposed when two employees fell for an email phishing attack in August 2017.
Network Health plans to send letters to 51,000 customers affected.
In a statement released September 22, 2017, Network Health acknowledged the email scam:
“In early August, two Network Health staff members were identified as the victims of a sophisticated email phishing attack by an unauthorized party which resulted in the potential exposure of their company emails,” company officials said in a news release.
According to this Post-Crescent story, the exposed information includes:
- Member names and IDs,
- Addresses,
- Phone numbers,
- Dates of birth,
- Provider information,
- Claims information and health insurance claim numbers exposed in limited circumstances
Did you know that data breach victims are 11 times more likely to have their identity stolen?
According to this Ponemon Institute study, of 1,005 people whose medical identity was stolen, 10 percent of victims said their event was the result of a healthcare provider or insurer data breach.
Medical identity theft, which is a fast-growing and extra dangerous form of identity theft (since your health records can become intertwined with the criminal’s, potentially leaving your very life at risk), likely won’t show up on your credit report immediately. By the time a medical collection notice shows up in your mail, a tremendous amount of damage could have been done. In fact, it could take up to a year for medical identity theft to show up on your credit report. “A 2015 study by the Medical Identity Theft Alliance estimated annual medical fraud in the U.S. ranges from $80 billion to $230 billion. Almost 30 percent of the victims do not find out about the identity theft until a year later, and most find it difficult to resolve these issues,” according to this Mississippi State University Extension story.
Curious about the signs of medical identity theft? Check out our blog post about things you need to watch for.
In 2016, more than 15 million Americans were victims of Identity fraud. The criminals stole about $16 billion, according to a Javelin Strategy & Research survey. Following the Equifax breach, who knows what those numbers will jump to for 2017.
If your identity was stolen, who would you call? Would you know how to repair the damage?
LibertyID provides expert, full service, fully managed identity theft restoration to individuals, couples, extended families* and businesses. LibertyID has a 100% success rate in resolving all forms of identity fraud on behalf of our subscribers.
*Extended families – primary individual, their spouse/partner, both sets of parents (including those that have been deceased for up to a year), and all children under the age of 25
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