Identity theft is a multi-billion dollar problem. Although many companies have responded to this threat appropriately, some continue to risk theft of the sensitive personal and medical information entrusted to them by consumers and patients. Unfortunately, it appears that Med Associates, Inc. — a health billing company based in Latham, New York — may have failed to adequately protect the sensitive health and insurance information of hundreds of thousands of people.
Med Associates recently announced via press release that “[o]n On March 22, 2018, Med Associates became aware of unusual activity relating to an employee’s workstation” and “determined that [an] unauthorized party accessed the workstation and through that, may have had access to certain personal and protected information. In its press release, the company said the data accessed by the third party may have included “patient names, date of birth, address, dates of service, diagnosis codes, procedure codes and insurance information, including insurance ID Number.” As reported by the Times Union newspaper, as many as 270,056 individuals were affected by the breach.
Data thieves intentionally hack into inadequately protected servers to steal personal information with the primary incentive of using that private data to commit identity theft and financial fraud. Identity theft wreaks havoc on consumers’ finances, credit history, and reputation and can take time, money, and patience to resolve. Identity thieves use stolen personal information for a variety of crimes, including credit card fraud, phone or utilities fraud, banking or finance fraud, government fraud, and medical identity theft. Moreover, a person whose personal information has been compromised may not see the full extent of identity theft or fraud for years.
Disclosure of personal information and medical information is unlawful, and the attorneys at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP have recovered millions of dollarson behalf of victims of such disclosures. If you have been notified by Med Associates that your data has been exposed, please contact us immediately to discuss your legal options.