Bay Area Ambulance Patients ID Theft Victims

Berkeley officials said Friday that more than 900 people who were  taken to hospitals by Berkeley Fire Department crews may have had their  personal information stolen by an identity theft ring.

City officials said their ambulance-billing vendor, Advanced Data  Processing Inc., which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., told them that they  learned in October that patient information of some of the city's ambulance  customers was inappropriately accessed by one of their employees in  conjunction with a scheme to commit identity theft.

The company, which does business as Intermedix Inc., said some of  the stolen data was disclosed to a theft ring suspected of filing fraudulent  federal tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.

ADPI said it is working closely with federal and local law  enforcement agencies who are conducting a criminal investigation and it has  terminated the employee's employment and access to its system.

Berkeley officials said ADPI conducted its own investigation of  the incident and told them on Oct. 15 that the personal information of 168  city of Berkeley ambulance customers had been inappropriately accessed.

City officials said that on Nov. 21, after completing further  forensic analysis, ADPI notified them that the employee may have accessed an  additional 763 customer records, so a total of 931 customers may be affected.

They said the unauthorized access to and, in certain instances  disclosure of, personal information, may have included patient names, social  security numbers, and dates of birth.

However, ADPI has determined that no medical information was  accessed or disclosed, according to city officials.

The city and ADPI sent a letter about the breach of information to  the initial 168 customers on Nov. 15 and a letter to the additional 763  customers was mailed Thursday.

Berkeley officials said the letter advises potentially impacted  individuals how to monitor their credit report for suspected misuse.

They said people who believe they may be affected by this incident  are advised to review credit card account statements and monitor their credit  report for unauthorized activity.

Information and resources are available at  www.myidcare.com/intersecurity.

The letter also tells impacted Berkeley customers that ADPI will  pay for one year of credit monitoring service to detect any fraudulent use of  personal information, along with information on how to access this service. 

Berkeley officials said if customers have any questions, they  should call the city's customer service line at 311 or (510) 981-CITY for  callers outside the city.

In addition, ADPI has retained identity experts to provide  information to help affected customers. Customers who want further  information can call 1 (877) 264-9622 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9  p.m. Eastern Time or visit www.myidcare.com/intersecurity.

Bay City News
 

Contact Us