 TITLE: How to Prevent Medical Identity Theft CONTENT: How to Protect Yourself From Identity Theft\n-------------------------------------------\nWhile there's no way to keep all your information completely secure, there are steps you can take to help avoid medical identity theft and make recovery easier:\n*   Read and review notices from your health plan provider, doctors, labs and pharmacies for unusual activity.\n*   Ask for a new card and health insurance identification number if your information is lost or stolen.\n*   Don't share your personal or health plan information with other people or with companies that claim to offer free services or products.\n*   Never share your information on the phone or via email unless you initiate the conversation or can verify that the person contacting you isn't a fraudster.\n*   Shred old documents that have your personal information on them.\n*   Monitor your credit, as unpaid bills may eventually wind up in collections under your name and hurt your credit.\n*   Check your medical records at least once a year.\n*   Keep copies of your medical records as proof of your correct information.\nYou'll also want to implement the same practices you might already use to avoid other types of identity theft, such as using strong and unique passwords for your online medical accounts. END