There are actually two types of identity theft I'm very concerned about - Social Security identity theft, and medical identity theft. Dont' get me wrong, criminal identity theft can put you behind bars for things you didn't do, and we're all worried about financial identity theft. I mean, in this day and age, I can't think of a single person who doesn't have some sort of financial concern.

Social Security identity theft really hits more on the financial side of things and impacts our job. I'm concerned about that one because the government seems to be encouraging it at the expense of the citizens. (Yeah, I get called a conspiracy theorist sometimes, but when you look at the facts, they really speak for themselves.)

Medical identity theft, on the other hand, can have deadly consequences, and with the new socialized health program the Obama administration has implemented, I would take any bet that the problem is going to increase dramatically over the next decade.

As fate would have it, Mac McMillan has agreed to share his perspective on medical identity theft with our readers. (You may have caught Mac's recent interview on Healthcare IT eWeek last month.) Mac is the CEO of CynergisTek, a company he set up specifically to help medical providers and other health information handlers keep our medical information secure. Most of our readers will find this weeks article highly informative, but if you handle health information, this is a "must-read"... your patients count on you protecting them.

If you're a victim of identity theft, fast action is your goal. The quicker you put things in motion, the better chance you have of stopping things from snowballing. To that end, it's a good idea to know what to do if you are suddenly at risk (like if you have a stolen wallet or purse,) and to bookmark this identity theft victim's resources page.

Remember, there are 7 types of identity theft, so just calling your credit card company is not enough to keep you from being a victim of identity theft. And even if you respond quickly and get in touch with the right authorities, there are no guarantees that you are safe.

Old advice tends to get outdated in the fight against identity theft. Until now I had told clients not to give personal information to someone if they had not originated the phone call. Now identity thieves are also using voice-over-IP, or VoIP, so I need to modify that advice.

VoIP is that handy innovation that lets you plug your phone into your computer and talk to anyone for $19.95 per year, or some other ridiculously low rate. It has the attraction of being cost-effective, although I was never satisfied with the quality when I tried it out. But since it runs over the internet, it becomes subject to some new problems - like the fact that you can set up a phone number to phish for information. The new scam sends an email that looks like it comes from your bank, and tells you to call. But when you call, the voice prompts have you put in your account number and PIN for identification purposes - this is all an identity thief needs to rob you blind.

So, my advice is now "Don't give personal information over the telephone, period." But the broader advice concerning phishing still applies - financial institutions (banks, credit card companies etc.) will never contact you via email or text to deal with a problem with your account.

BP just can't seem to stay out of the limelight lately. First there was that horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Then came the conspiracy theories because the media coverage went dark on the clean-up efforts, and some less-than-pleasant video made it on YouTube showing aggressive and nasty behavior toward private videographers. (Come to think of it, the media coverage did thin out awful quick for such a major spill that coated our beaches... ) But now over 13,000 victims who filed claims in connection with the oil spill are now at risk again, because BP managed to lose their data.

This fits right along-side the story on the local food pantry putting people at risk of identity theft. I can think of no good reason why BP needed everyone's social security numbers to get them relief checks - that should have all been covered by their insurance, not the petroleum mogul. But not to worry... BP is offering to pay for credit monitoring for a year if you ask them to.

My biggest beef with the standard offer of credit monitoring after a data breach is that it spreads the misinformation that identity theft is all about your credit. (And even if it was, credit monitoring doesn't stop anything from happening.) Most of the victims affected by the spill were in Florida, the 2nd busiest point of ingress for illegal immigrants. They aren't looking for credit, they're looking for work, and they need social security numbers to get that job.

Fortunately for them, there are now 13,000 in somebody's hands. That's a lot of crab-trapping...