October 18, 2005Robert S. Brown

UW Medical Center

Identity Theft

So, what you gonna do about it?

The Law

RCW 9.35.020: No person may knowingly obtain, possess, use, or transfer a means of identification or financial information of another person, living or dead, with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any crime.

The Costs

$53 Billion per year nationwide Loss of good will = loss of business?

The Methods

Phishing has replaced dumpster diving Other methods include:

– Shoulder Surfing– Skimming (data device on an ATM)– Social Engineering (think Mission: Impossible)– Mail Theft (old fashioned but it works)– Retail Theft (stealing, hacking, conning, bribing)– Plus a zillion other ways your data gets stolen

Two likely scenarios at UWMC

1. Care Recipient is an identity thief

2. Inside job (or hacker)

Care Recipient is an identity thief

Duty to notify the victim– Do not share PHI unless permitted by law

RCW 70.02.050 HIPAA

– Consider notifying law enforcement– Share handout explaining what you will do, what

they can do (e.g. FTC’s excellent white paper)– http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

Care Recipient is an identity thief

Need to mitigate the damage– Amend medical records– Notify internal departments– Promptly investigate & notify the victim of your

findings and actions taken to fix

Employee is the Identity Thief

Investigation policy?– Who is on point?– Who should you alert?– How will you summarize at conclusion?

Sanction policy?– Does it explicitly address ID theft?– Will the penalties meet the Seattle Times test?

Summary

Review the laws:– RCW 9.35– HIPAA– RCW 70.02.050

Summary

Be proactive in protecting data Be diligent about investigating Create policies now

UW Medical Center

Rob Brown, Assistant Director of Compliance206.598.4342 rsbrown@u.washington.edu

Ellen Rubin, RN, Privacy Officer206.598.5701 rubin@u.washington.edu