Some Things Better Left Unshared: Social Media And Medical Identity Theft

The Washington Post recently published an article reminding individuals not to tweet or otherwise share information concerning their medical conditions on social media, warning that disclosing such information publicly "is akin to posting your address along with the dates you'll be away on vacation."  Quoting Jennifer Trussell, who investigates medical identity theft on behalf of HHS, the article cautions that, "If you tweet about your diabetes diagnosis . . . the next thing you know, you're getting diabetes test strips you didn't order or receive billed to your insurance company."  In fact, in some egregious cases, an individual may discover that thieves are maxing out his or her Medicare account by making false claims against his or her policy.