June 23, 2014 Newsletter
Medical Identity Theft on the Rise
It is no surprise that identity theft is growing. We have all heard the stories of chain stores being hacked into and millions of consumers’ credit card information being taken as hackers are now targeting businesses to obtain a mass amount of information at one time. What we are seeing now, is a growth of medical identity theft.
Of all identity theft cases in 2013, 43% were related to medical information. More than 7 million patient health care records were breached in 2013, according to an article from Kaiser Health News.
To help combat this growing trend, providers can take precautions during the registration process. Asking for a patient’s ID, getting a copy of their insurance card and questioning any inconsistencies on the registration form can all be beneficial.
With that in mind, thieves are getting their information by theft of computers or other electronic devices, unauthorized access to information or passing it on without permission. It has never been more crucial to have the highest security standards when it comes to this information. Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. constantly monitors our security programs to help keep this information protected.
Law Enforces Social Media Account Information Protection Against Landlords
A new law now prohibits Wisconsin landlords (as well as employers and educational institutions) to request or require access to an individual’s personal Internet account. This would cover social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
As of April 10, 2014, the law, 2013 Wisconsin Act 208, also states that landlords may not evict, refuse to rent or discriminate against someone for refusing to allow access to their personal Internet account.
If there is a violation of this law, the violator may be subject to no more than $1,000.00 in fines. If an individual is evicted or discriminated against in violation of the statute, the Department of Workforce Development – Equal Rights Division may award other remedies consistent with anti-discrimination statutes that it also enforces.
What the new law does not prevent is a landlord to investigate or act on information made available to the public of an individual’s personal Internet account. Landlords are also still allowed to connect with tenants on social media websites.
When used within the law, these social media platforms can be a very useful tool in the application as well as the collection stages of a tenant’s residence for location, contact and employment information.
Card Payments Continue to Rise as Check Use Continues to Decline
A recent study released by the Federal Reserve shows a continued rise in the use of card payments and a continued decline in check payments.To accommodate the way people are paying their bills, Finance System of Green Bay, Inc. offers multiple ways for our referrals to pay including electronic checking, automatic withdrawals, debit & credit cards as well as an online payment portal. This aids in convenience to your referral and helps bring in more payments, immediately. Does your current collection agency provide these options to your referrals? Teaming with an agency that has these abilities will help allow more convenience for your referrals and faster payments back to you.
Security Update: Heart Bleed Vulnerability
Finance System has successfully gone through risk management procedures in regards to the Heart Bleed OpenSSL Computer Vulnerability that is believed to have affected over 66% of websites online. Though none of Finance System of Green Bay, Inc.’s portals were affected, including ClientConnect, many of our vendor websites were and we have completed the precautionary steps in order to keep information secure. ClientConnect is a secure, online portal for our clients to access their accounts 24/7.
