Are hospital staff stealing your personal information?(1)
Yes, if you are a patient of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dwight McPherson, who works in the admissions department, is charged with stealing 50 thousands patient records and selling them to identity thieves.
He had access to all the registration information stored at the hospital’s computer. In 2006, when he was approached by ID thieves for records of 38 to 58 year old male patients, he agreed to steal the information for money. He collected the names, addresses, and social security numbers and sold them over the period of two years leading to his arrest on Friday night. Police uncovered his scheme when a print out of the record showed up in Atlanta during a postal investigation. How much did he get for selling those records? About $600 to $700 dollars for a batch of 1000 records. For less than a dollar, our identity can be in the hands of crooks. His lawyer claimed that “He is a hard working, honest man.” Right, stealing people’s personal information is really hard work.
Identity theft is a serious problem - besides the financial loss it can ruin someone’s life. And of all places we would think hospitals, where we need to disclose all our personal information and history, would be a safe place. But as it turns out that is not the case.
