SAN ANTONIO – Medical identity theft is a crime on the rise.
A stolen medical identity can ruin finances, compromise medical treatment and cause legal problems.
If a thief steals a person's medical identity, he or she can use it to get expensive surgery and medical goods, like wheelchairs.
According to the Medical Identity Fraud Alliance, once a person's medical record is mixed with a criminal’s, the identity theft victim can get the wrong diagnosis, or the wrong treatment.
Almost half of medical identity theft occurs when a family member takes a relative’s health insurance card or other ID, or when people knowingly share their information with someone else.