Host Maria Varmazis discusses healthcare fraud and elder scams, including a $900 million scheme targeting hospice patients. They also cover phone-based fraud attempts on UK seniors and a beneficiary scam involving the FBI and the National Bank of Belgium.
HIPAA gaps leave personal health data at risk with unregulated entities handling information.
Beneficiary scams exploit trust by posing as institutions like the FBI to extract personal information.
Deep dives
HIPAA Compliance and Data Privacy
HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates, like IT companies handling patient data, to comply with privacy standards for protecting individually identifiable health information. However, gaps exist where certain entities, like schools and mental health apps, are not covered by HIPAA, potentially leading to the unauthorized sale of personal health data.
Security Oversight Gap
A scam email posing as the FBI alerts beneficiaries about an alleged inheritance payment tied to the National Bank of Belgium. The email warns of scams impersonating bank officials, urging recipients to provide personal information for fund release. This typical beneficiary scam exploits individuals' trust to extract sensitive details for fraudulent purposes.
Misinformation about HIPAA
Misinformation about HIPAA compliance and who it applies to is common, leading to misconceptions about data privacy rules. While reputable healthcare and IT companies adhere to HIPAA guidelines, gaps exist where various entities handling health data are not bound by HIPAA regulations, potentially exposing individuals' sensitive information.
Employee Termination Protocol
A breach incident involving a terminated employee retaining access to patient records raises concerns about security oversight. It highlights the necessity for entities to promptly disable access for departing employees to avoid unauthorized data access. Failure to enforce basic access control measures could expose sensitive data to unauthorized individuals.
This week, Maria Varmazis host of the N2K daily space show, T-Minus, joins Dave and Joe, as they celebrate Maria joining the Hacking Humans podcast every week! Maria's story is from a listener this week who writes in with a story on an IT company that is a third party for a healthcare company, and the dangers that can come from that. Dave and Joe share some listener follow up from Michael, who shares some thoughts on AI. Dave's story follows how a recent study found that 40% of elderly adults in the UK regularly face phone-based fraud attempts, with significant impacts on their mental health and quality of life. Joe follows a Scottsdale couple, Alexandra Gehrke and Jeffrey King, and how they have been indicted for a $900 million fraud scheme targeting hospice patients, receiving $330 million in illegal kickbacks used to purchase luxury items. Our catch of the day comes from listener Jim who writes in with a letter about a concerned beneficiary who received a letter from the FBI about their overdue inheritance with the National Bank of Belgium. The message confirmed the legitimacy of their claim but warned of potential scams by individuals impersonating bank officials.
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