Things I learned at the Identity Theft and Fraud Fair
- Pamela Mills
- Mar 9, 2017
- 4 min read
I went to this fair about identity theft and fraud prevention. During the lectures, I found out a bit of useful information that I would like to pass on. As a person who has had her personal information stolen and bank accounts used by thieves, I tried to pay extra attention so that I could share a few things with you.
The first thing that I learned was to leave your Social Security Card and Medicare Card at home. Now, personally, I usually carry this with me, as I often need it for doctors’ appointments and in case I get sick and need to go to the hospital. But the representatives Medicare and Social Security kept repeating this. To find your wallet with one or both of those cards in it is a gold mine to people who may want to steal from you. So, it was suggested that you leave those at home in a safe or at a bank security box, and not in your purse or wallet. I am going to follow their directions.
So do you put your out-going mail into your mailbox with a little flag up or utilize a community
mailbox for out-going mail? It was suggested not to use personal mailboxes. The reason is that little flag is a neon sign for thieves. Think about how you pay your bills by mail- do you use a check? Well, if a thief steals your out-going mail, they then have you name, address, and checking account information that they can use to steal money from your account. It was recommended that you put your out-going mail into the mailbox at the post office.
The next thing I learned is never respond to anything that is ‘Urgent”. If you get letter that demands payment immediately, or (more often) phone calls demanding money from, for example, the IRS, some family friend, or relative in a foreign country, or when you ‘won something’ but they need you to pay the taxes first, these are all scams. Do not answer them. Just hang up. If they get to be harassing phone calls, take down the phone number and report it to the police.
Those of us with CVID have a lot of doctors. When was the last time you checked your doctor’s license? I know this sounds like a sad thing to do, but there are doctors out there who do not have you best interest in mind or may have made serious mistakes in the past. You have a right to know about your doctor’s licenses, where they went to medical school, if there have been any complaints or grievances filed against them, or perhaps they may be on probation or have a suspended license. To check on this information, all you need to do is contact your state’s medical board. In California, the website is www.mbc.gov. There are also specialized boards for medical assistants and nursing practitioners.
If you are disabled like me, there are a few special things for us. If you use a handicapped placard for parking, please note that card must only go with you. No one else may use that placard unless you are with them. I take my card with me often when my care provider drives me to places such as doctor’s appointments. However, I still drive my own personal car at times when I feel well. I learned that I can get disable license plates for my car, and have the placard for when I am in another vehicle. You also only get the one placard. So, if it gets stolen, then you need to report it to the Department of Motor Vehicles and request a new one.
Do you have a care provider? A care provider is anyone who helps you. They can be friends, family or hired through a company. As a disabled person, you have rights. You can learn those by contacting your local office of Adult Protective Services, also known at APS. If you are a victim of a crime from any care provider, paid or not, family or not, you should get help through APS and your local law enforcement. Disabled and Elder Abuse is a serious crime. Protect yourself by knowing your rights.
I get a lot of mail from my doctor’s, insurance companies and Medicare. I try to read all my mail, but I admit to just throwing a lot of regular stuff into my box of receipts and other things I should keep for ‘just in case’. The Medicare representative stated that I need to read that mail. If we find that our doctor is billing for services, treatments, etc., that were not provided, we need to call them. If it is not a simple mistake, then it’s fraud. Medicare fraud is very costly and is investigated rigorously.
Lastly, never give out any personal information to anyone over the phone or on the internet. If you get a call saying, ‘this is you bank….’, stop, hang up, and call you bank with a number that you know is correct. and not the phone number they give you. This goes for any similar scams. Never say ‘yes’ on the phone to a stranger either. They could be recording you.
I hope that these few little tips help you. Some of the things I already knew, but had forgotten. Other information was new. In the end though, we all need to think smart and protect ourselves from those who have less scruples than us. I wish you all well. Hugs.
