| > | | | | might assist in any investigation. This will include |
| Health insurance fraud is unfortunately all too | | | | getting hold of the plan itself, any correspondence |
| common today and, despite your best efforts, | | | | associated with it, cancelled checks, bank or credit |
| there is a chance that you will fall victim to this | | | | card statements and anything else you think |
| particularly nasty crime. So what do you do if you | | | | might be relevant. |
| find that you are a victim? | | | | This should be the end of the matter for now but |
| Health insurance fraud is a particularly nasty form | | | | unfortunately it may be just the start of your |
| of fraud and can be extremely lucrative for the | | | | problems. |
| perpetrators. There are a number of steps that | | | | One extremely common and growing crime in our |
| you can take to minimize the risk of becoming a | | | | society today is that of identity fraud and, having |
| victim but, even if you take care in choosing your | | | | got hold of your bank or credit card details, your |
| health insurance plan, there is still a chance that | | | | social security number and a great deal of |
| you will get caught. So, what do you do if you | | | | personal information about you in support of your |
| find that you have become a victim of health | | | | health insurance plan application, the fraudsters |
| insurance fraud? | | | | may well go on to literally steal your identity. |
| The first thing that you should do is to contact | | | | To check to see if this is the case you should |
| your State Insurance Commissioner's office to file | | | | obtain copies of your personal credit report from |
| a health insurance fraud complaint. This will also | | | | all three of the major credit reporting agencies as |
| allow you to alert your State Insurance | | | | quickly as possible. If these are clear then it is a |
| Commissioner to the problem so that other | | | | matter of waiting and watching and should you |
| people can be warned, thus helping to limit the | | | | spot any unauthorized activity being carried out in |
| number of people who will fall victim to this | | | | your name then you will need to take action. |
| particular fraudster. | | | | Indeed, if you even suspect that you may |
| The second thing you should do is to contact | | | | become the victim of identity theft there are |
| your bank or credit card company so that you | | | | several steps which you can take to help avert |
| can stop any further payments from being made | | | | disaster, although this is a subject which needs to |
| on your plan. | | | | be covered in its own right and is beyond the |
| The third thing to do is to contact your local law | | | | scope of this short article. |
| enforcement agency so that they too can join | | | | However hard we try the criminals will always |
| the hunt for this fraudster, put a stop to any | | | | manage to get through to some of us and, if you |
| further damage and bring the culprit to justice. | | | | are unable to stop them in the first place, the |
| Having taken these three immediate actions you | | | | next best thing is to know exactly what to do |
| should then sit down and carefully gather together | | | | once they have struck. |
| everything you have in relation to your plan which | | | | |