Report: Medical identity theft increasing

As more patients' medical information is put online, the prospect of medical identity theft is becoming more common. In 2007, which is the last time data was collected, more than 250,000 Americans were victims of medical identity theft, according to a report from the World Privacy Forum.

There are various ways to steal the computerized data, such as when thieves download personal insurance data and related information from a medical operation's electronic health records, then sell it on the black market or use it themselves to make fraudulent billing claims.

For more information:
- check out this New York Times article
- read this Las Vegas Sun article

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