Going to the Hospital?--Leave Your Purse at Home

If you are making a trip to the hospital, you will be making yourself exceptionally vulnerable to others. No, I am not referring to the quality of medical care from the doctors and nursing staff. I am referring instead to the probability of your becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud.

To illustrate the point, I refer to a recent event that occurred to a patient while staying at Scottsdale HealthCare Shea in Scottsdale, Arizona. The patient, a 79-yr old woman seeking treatment, was apparently victimized not once but twice by two separate members of the support staff operating independently and without knowledge that the other had also victimized the patient.

The alleged perpetrators are Nancy Adame 34, and Sylvia Cubit 40. The victim reported to police that she had been contacted by her bank about suspicious activity in her account. When she examined the contents of her purse after her stay at the hospital, she discovered that personal checks, credit cards, and her debit card had been stolen.



Nancy Adame has been charged with fraud, theft, and forgery and has been released pending completion of the investigation. Slyvia Cubit (who also works at another Phoenix area hospital and medical laboratories) has been arrested after Scottsdale police obtained a search warrant and entered her home finding evidence linking her to several other identity thefts. She, Cubit, has been charged with theft, aggravated identity theft, theft of a credit card, forgery, fraudulent use of a credit card, trafficking in the identity of another, and trafficking in stolen property.

What lessons do(should) the rest of us learn from the misadventures of these two hospital staff?

1. Difficult times often brings out the worst in people.
2. Constant vigilance to guard against identity theft is always a good idea.
3. Motive and opportunity are all that it takes.
4. Don't assume that others are not motivated to steal from you and your creditors.
5. You can influence, if not control, how much opportunity is provided to identity thieves.

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2009/02/05/20090205abrk-hospitaltheft0205.html