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The Red Flags Regulations, issued in October 2007 as the "final rule" tothe FACT Act, Section 114, defines a "Red Flag" as a pattern, practice oractivity that indicates the possible risk of identity theft. The regulationsinclude 26 illustrative examples of Red Flags associated with potentialidentity theft. Examples include:
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-- A consumer reporting agency provides notice of a credit freeze inresponse to a request for a consumer report
-- A consumer reporting agency provides a notice of address discrepancy
-- Personal information provided is inconsistent when compared againstexternal information sources used by financial institution or creditor
"Identity theft is a serious issue, especially when it concerns thehealthcare industry because such crimes not only have financial implications,but they can potentially cause safety concerns for patients," said RodBazzani, executive vice president of healthcare for TransUnion. "WhileTransUnion Revenue Manager already can assist hospitals with many aspects ofthe regulations, we have further enhanced our solution to alert our customersof these red flags even more prominently."
Identity theft has already had a great impact on the healthcare industry.According to the FTC, an estimated three percent of identity theft victims hadtheir personal information used to obtain medical services by another person -impacting approximately 250,000 U.S. patients in 2005 and translating to $468million in medical identity crimes per year.
To illustrate the gravity of the situation, TransUnion looked at high riskfraud alert files for one of its Revenue Manager customers located in a suburbof a large Midwestern city. In the first nine months of 2008, 391 fraud alertmatches were discovered at the hospital. The transgressions ranged from a"Social Security number not being issued by the Social SecurityAdministration" to an "address reported being used in true name fraud orcredit fraud" situation.
"The need for identity theft solutions is obvious when hospitals - notjust large metro hospitals, but also smaller suburban facilities - are facedwith medical fraud situations almost on a daily basis," added Bazzani.
The effective date for the Red Flags Regulations was November 1, 2008;however, the Federal Trade Commission, one of the agencies charged withenforcement has recently announced that it will delay its enforcement effortsuntil May 1, 2009 to allow financial institutions and creditors more time todevelop identity theft prevention programs. More information on the Red FlagsRegulations may be found in a TransUnion white paper entitled, "Red FlagRegulations: Exploring the Impact of New Identity Theft Prevention Regulationsfor Healthcare Providers" at the following Web site: transunionhealthcare.com.
About TransUnion
As a global leader in credit and information management, TransUnioncreates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering,analyzing and delivering information. For businesses, TransUnion helps improveefficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by deliveringcomprehensive data and advanced analytics and decisioning. For consumers,TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage theircredit health and achieve their financial goals. Through these and otherefforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Foundedin 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion employs more than 3,600employees in more than 25 countries on five continents.http://www.transunion.com/healthcare
SOURCE TransUnion
