Businesses across the nation are under pressure to meet the Federal Trade Commission’s Nov. 1 deadline to have an identity theft prevention program in place. Eduard F. Goodman, general counsel and chief privacy officer with Identity Theft 911, says that many businesses will not meet the deadline, estimating that less one third of banks will not meet the deadline.

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A prescription for stopping Medicare fraud

In the old-time Chicago political system, the dead could vote. In today's Medicare health system, the dead can collect bills. Lots of them. Corruption is corruption, whether it involves ward heelers on the South Side of the city, or phantom healers on the wrong side of the law. It must be stopped.

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Names of dead doctors used to defraud Medicare

Medicare paid nearly $100 million to medical suppliers for wheelchairs, prescription medicines and other home equipment submitted under the names of deceased physicians in recent years, according to a report by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's investigations panel. CMS officials did not contest the findings, saying CMS will soon get the Social Security Administration's Death Master File and that the agency has been using a new identification system to sort all claims.

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Medicare Is Hit by Dead-Doctor Billing Scams

WASHINGTON -- The federal government paid scam artists nearly $100 million for claims of wheelchairs, canes, prescription drugs and other items submitted under the names of dead doctors in recent years, according to a Congressional investigation.

The 478,500 claims, filed under the names of 16,500 to 18,200 dead physicians, got as much as $92.8 million in payments from 2000 to 2007 from Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for the elderly and disabled. The actual number could be much more than $100 million because the probe counted only claims filed at least a year after those doctors died, according to a ...

Wall Street Journal, Read more...

Red Flags

Businesses that use consumer reports, under the new rules, must adopt a plan to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft. The plan must be approved by the company’s board of directors or senior management. The rules identity certain signals of actual or attempted identity theft, but each company is left to establish plans based upon a risk assessment of its own operations. Signals identified by the agencies as warranting increased alert include:

• Consumers notation on a credit report such as a fraud alert, active duty alert, or credit freeze.
• Unusual patterns in the consumers use of credit, such as a recent increase in inquiries or new credit accounts, changes in the use of credit, or accounts closed.
• Suspicious documents that appear to be alerted, forged or reassembled. Or documents that include information that is inconsistent with the person applying for credit.
• Suspicious Social Security number (SSN), for example an SSN that has not been issued or is listed on the Social Security Administration's Death Master File. Another example would be one in which the SSN range does not match the date of birth or is the same SSN as provided by other persons opening an account.
• Suspicious address or phone number as follows: (a) the address or phone number is known to have been furnished on fraudulent applications; (b) the address either does not exist or is that of a mail drop or prison; (c) the phone number is invalid or associated with a pager or answering service; or (d) the address or phone number is the same or similar to information submitted by other persons opening accounts.
• Use of an account that has been inactive for a reasonably lengthy period of time.
• Mail sent to the account holder is returned while transactions continue.
• Notice from the account holder or law enforcement that identity theft has occurred.

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Product Information

The products advertised on this website contain the complete and official Social Security Administration (SSA) database extract, as well as updates to the full file of persons reported to SSA as being deceased. The Social Security Death Master file contains the following information: Social Security Number, Name, Date of Birth, Date of Death, State (or country) of last known residence, and ZIP code of last lump sum payment. SSA authorizes the use of this database as an identity verification tool, but notes that the Death Master File (DMF) may contain inaccuracies. Thus, SSA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the DMF. Therefore, the absence of a particular person on this file is not proof that the individual is alive. Further, in rare instances it is possible for the records of a person who is not deceased to be included erroneously in the DMF.

The Death Master File (DMF) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) contains over 65 million records created from SSA payment records. This file includes the following information on each decedent, if the data are available to the SSA: social security number, name, date of birth, date of death, state or country of residence (2/88 and prior), ZIP code of last residence, and ZIP code of lump sum payment. The SSA does not have a death record for all persons; therefore, SSA does not guarantee the veracity of the file. Thus, the absence of a particular person is not proof this person is alive.