Meanwhile, as more medical records hit the black market the value of the stolen data declined. The reason is simple, supply and demand. By comparison, medical records are generally significantly higher value than stolen user credit card data.
Recently, Cynerio has detected an interesting new wrinkle in the sale of stolen medical data on the dark web. The research team found a post from a vendor on the dark web offering the medical records of the deceased. In this dark web listing, the vendor mentions that 60,000 of the stolen medical records available for purchase include individual death dates.
It may come as a surprise to think that fraudsters would be interested in purchasing medical records of patients that are already deceased, but there is a reason for this. When it comes to identity theft or running up fraudulent charges there is no better victim than one that can’t file a complaint. If the person whose identity is used for the fraud is deceased, it may go unnoticed for a long time.
According to a past AARP Bulletin, fraudsters attempt to steal the identities of 2.5 deceased Americans annually in an attempt open credit card accounts, apply for loans, commit tax fraud and obtain expensive mobile phones via carrier contracts.
The above are the most common forms of fraud tied to ID theft of the deceased. But, when it comes to medical records, they are often used in combination with other personal information to conduct even more sophisticated fraudulent transactions.
Besides financial fraud, criminals also use stolen medical information for illegally acquiring medical supplies and obtaining health insurance. One of the dark web one of the researchers found criminals explaining to a potential customer how they can use a medical ID to get prescribed drugs delivered to them, to order medication and even to book a doctor’s appointment for a check-up.
