All the data breaches from health insurance companies and doctors’ offices have given criminals a lot of information about patients and the services they have received.
The FBI has issued a new warning that criminals are now using information to pose as legitimate health insurers and fraud investigators to scam and threaten you.
The warning states: “These criminals are sending emails and text messages to patients and health care providers, disguising them as legitimate communications from trusted health care authorities. The messages are designed to pressure victims into disclosing protected health information, medical records, personal financial details, or providing reimbursements for alleged service overpayments or non-covered services.”
Tips to protect yourself as suggested in the FBI warning:
- Be suspicious of unsolicited messages emails, texts, and calls requesting personal information.
- Never click on links that are included in suspicious and/or unsolicited emails.
- Always contact your health insurance provider directly to verify the legitimacy of any messages before sharing personal or health care information.
If you need to search for the provider’s website, don’t click on any sponsored / advertisement links you find in web searches because there are many criminals creating advertisements to pose as legitimate companies. Only use the phone number on your insurance cards and in official websites for your health care providers.