Obamacare ID verification issues spread

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, has been one of the more controversial pieces of legislation to make it through Washington in recent years for a variety of reasons. However, many consumer protection advocates and business leaders are beginning to become increasingly concerned about identity theft because of the relative mess that has become of the associated exchange systems.

American Banker recently reported that the Healthcare.gov website portal has thus far experienced significant glitches and other errors that have not made it user-friendly. Identity thieves and hackers are among the most advantageous criminals in the world today, as they consistently focus efforts on the most vulnerable individuals and organizations to steal information more easily.

Because so much personal information is floating around in light of Obamacare's many components, including that of the individuals who assist consumers through the data entry processes, ID verification is faltering. According to the news provider, hackers have already started to set up fake websites, send fraudulent emails and take other measures to trick consumers into giving up their personal information.

"A lot of social engineering campaigns are using the confusion around what's happening in health care to say, you need to come to this website and register and give up either personal information or credentials," Christopher Novak, managing principal at Verizon Business, explained to the source.

Businesses should be especially vigilant when approaching the new health care exchange systems and incorporate as many ID verification practices as possible to keep sensitive corporate information safe. Additionally, organizations might benefit from raising awareness of the threats among employees, as identity theft can spread relatively quickly once one staff member's identity has been compromised.

As technology continues to proliferate and evolve, organizations need to ensure that ID verification practices are kept relevant.