(Talk about above and beyond reasonable and necessary charges).

Those arrested included senior citizens, doctors, and other medical care professionals.   Senior patiencts were offered a “kick back” of  $50-$100 for their assistance in this scheme where “suspects in Miami alone are accused of submitting $103 million in false claims, the Miami Herald reports. “This is like a game of whack a mole,” Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer told the paper. “The numbers are off the charts.”

How did the other cities and suspects “add” up?

According to ABC News:

• In Baton Rouge, 31 defendants were charged for various schemes allegedly involving fraudulent claims for durable medical goods (such as wheelchairs) totaling approximately $32 million.
• In Brooklyn, 22 defendants were charged for their alleged participation in schemes to submit fraudulent claims totaling approximately $78 million.
• In Detroit, 11 defendants were charged for their alleged roles in schemes to submit $35 million.
• In Houston, four defendants were also charged for their alleged roles in a $3 million

According to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services these

“arrests are a powerful warning to those who would try to defraud taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius.  “These arrests illustrate close cooperation between the Medicare program that identified these fraudsters and the law enforcement officials who acted swiftly to cut them off.  And our efforts to stop criminals don’t end here because the Affordable Care Act gives us new tools to prevent Medicare fraud before it is committed – better protecting seniors and the integrity of the Medicare program for generations to come.”

However, it seems that some defendant’s may be getting off “easy” as a deal is reached in the Brooklyn cases.  The New York Daily News reports, that 6 of the accused have reached a “deal.”  According the the Daily News “the indictment will be dismissed in 18 months if the defendants agree not to accept any more Medicare kickbacks and pay unspecified restitution. They do not have to admit wrongdoing before a judge.”

One defendant, at 76 years old passes away last summer due to natural causes.

This agreement is reached after one defendant appeared in the courtroom pushing a walked, and another at 84 years old didn’t appear because she couldn’t get a ride to the court.

Defense attorney John Kaley says. ”We appreciate what we think is the government’s fair assessment of the case and it’s a just resolution.”

What do you think?  Should age and health issues be taken into consideration in a criminal trial?  Or should each of the defendants have to either plead guilty as three clinic operators (in the Brooklyn cases) or gone to trial, as two doctors in the Brooklyn case did?

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to:www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

Sources:

US Department of Health and Human Services 

CBS News 

PBS 

ABC News 

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“All in the Family–About six million parents and children improperly share identity information, specifically Social Security numbers (SSNs).

Betraying Children’s Trust–Nearly 500,000 children under the age of 18 have had their identities stolen by a parent.

Thanks Mom and Dad–A growing number of adult children have used their parents’ identity information for fraudulent reasons, with more than two million elderly victims in the past few years.”

“The realities of familial identity theft are far worse than anything you see in a soap opera. It is the ultimate in family betrayal,” said Dr. Coggeshall. “Most consumers think of this type of manipulation as something inflicted by a stranger or a criminal scamming the system, when in reality a lot of identity manipulation may be a betrayal by a trusted parent, child or another family member.”

Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer of ID Analytics, will discuss these and other findings at ID Analytics’ consumer risk conference, Advance 2011: Rediscovering the Consumer, in San Diego, Calif.  Read the entire article here.

Unfortunately, this type of abuse and fraud has been going on a long time, and that fact that it happens isn’t a real surprise or shock.  The shear numbers of instances alone are what are so shocking.  Even more shocking is that it is those that are placed in a position of trust that are the ones taking the most advantage of the young and elderly alike.

Read more by Identity Theft Secrets.com on this topic:

Sad but True Crime Stories of Elder Abuse and Identity Theft

Proposed Law to Protect Foster Children From the High Risk of Identity Theft

Why Children are a Prime Target for Identity Theft

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Hi:
This is my first time to buy silver coins from APMEX.
I would like to know if APMEX is a true, secure, reliable company to buy those silver coins.
I did buy some silver coins from goldsilver.com and they send me coins. But their prices are a little more expensive than APMEX.
Please, help me.
Thank you so much.
Anibal

http://www.howtobuygoldx.com/apmex

——————–

Hi Anibal,

My experience with APMEX has been very good. I’ve talked with people from their company, and they even invited me to come to Oklahoma and see their vaults. I haven’t gone yet, but plan to sometime in 2011 or possibly early 2012.

The link below will take you through HowToBuyGoldX.com to Apmex. HowToBuyGoldX.com recommends buying silver and gold through Apmex as well.

http://www.howtobuygoldx.com/apmex

Hope that’s helpful for you! Please let me know how your experience goes with ordering from Apmex. Would be good to know your experience.

http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/silver-bars-and-coins

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It would be great if you could share this with others if you feel that it would be of interest to them especially those that follow your site.

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Depending on what you like to do online, a VPN is very often an excellent way to keep your computer connections safe through secure communication.

You can see the coupon code link for iVPN above.

We’ve also come across some great coupon codes and links that we know will work for iVPN.

We will be giving them out on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want a coupon code that we know will work for iVPN, contact us to see if any are still available. Again… first come, first-served.

How a VPN works:

The idea behind a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is to give a direct connection from your computer to a server. Then, from that server, you connect with others and surf the internet.

You can think of a VPN as a kind of secret underground tunnel from your home to a trusted friend’s home in another neighborhood. If you go out for a walk, no one in your neighborhood will even know, because as far as they know, you never left your house.

The door to the VPN tunnel can only be opened by people who know the secret knock (an encrypted connection from your computer to another), and the only parties who know this knock are those with the VPN software.

What about a proxy service?
Proxy servers are fine for one-time or occasional use (though proxies often have lots of ads running around their front end). Proxy services are designed to be used primarily for web browsing. In contrast, when your VPN is set up, all traffic coming and going through your tunnel is secured. This means that not just your web browsing is encrypted, but also any connections you run through email, skype, other VoIP and chat programs, and more.

What’s best about a VPN though is that even the company providing your Internet service (or anyone else), can’t record or control what you’re doing while you’re connected. As far as they can see, you’re only connecting to the computer where your VPN service is located.

You may not know this, but when you are connected to the Internet, websites track what you do. So does the company providing your Internet service. There are lots of legitimate reasons they might want to do this, but regardless they have and maintain a record of who you are and what you do.

They also can use this information to filter results in search engines, or withhold certain content from you online.

However, when you are connected to the VPN, you originate from the VPN server. iVPN has VPN servers located all over the world. This means that if you connect to a UK VPN server and use it for surfing the web, then as far as websites are concerned, you are surfing from the UK. As far as your Internet Service Provider is concerned, you are simply talking to someone on the other end of the VPN tunnel, without ever leaving your home.

Basically, with iVPN, your IP address and physical location are completely separate from what you are doing online.

The VPN remains secure unless you choose to give out personally identifying details through a web form submission or by signing in to a web service that you’ve chosen to give information to.

We’ve come across some great coupon codes and links for iVPN.

We will be giving them out on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want a coupon code that we know will work for iVPN, contact us to see if any are still available. Again… first come, first-served.

Otherwise, if you just want to trial a VPN software or service, use the link below for iVPN.

If you do decide to sign up after the trial download, that link should also give you the publicly available coupon codes when/if you sign up for the iVPN service.

—————————————–
Looking for a coupon code link for a great VPN?
Check out iVPN below.
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/ivpn
—————————————–

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Today’s post really is just to talk about the promo code above. We’ll have a review of Workshare later on this week or next. However, we’ll share some of the basics about Workshare now.

Lots of attorneys use Workshare already because it is more effective for them to compare code and notes side by side using Workshare than using the code markup tools in Word.

But you don’t have to be an attorney to see the value from using a program like Workshare Compare or Workshare Professional.

The reason people really like Workshare is because the perception is that Word (from Microsoft) does a pretty poor job of tracking revisions to documents. People don’t like the complexity or the inaccuracy or Word’s “track changes” within documents.

What Workshare Professional does is simplifies the process through it’s comparison views and easy tools Management documents becomes easier, and people are impressed with the new abilities that get added with each new version of Workshare.

The one hangup people have had (though it’s not been a problem for us) with Workshare seems to be that the file security options sometimes prevent the documents from being emailed to recipients or prevent the documents from being opened on the receiving end. However, turning off the security features takes care of the issue.

We think that’s mostly a user/experience issue which goes away once you’ve had experience using and adapting to the program.

Many of those who enjoy using Workshare are quick to acknowledge that there are other comparison utility programs, but they just don’t seem to have the same robust features or display options as Workshare does.

Track multiple authors’ changes is relatively straightforward, and the changes are much easier to see than in any comparable program. Saving past versions of the program also is simple, and you can see the code and markup from several different versions simply and quickly.

Again, really the purpose of this post today is just to give you the URL to save 10% off Workshare Professional, but hopefully we’ve given at least a basic overview of what the program can do for you. Check out the link below to get the promo code.

——————–
Promo Code #1
Save 10% on Workshare Compare
Use this promo code and save 10% off your order.
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/workshare-promo-code
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In an article with CNN reporters senators admitted to having seen pictures of bin Laden dead, but with so many reports of fake photographs circulating on the Internet it is hard to know what is fact and what is fiction.

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, in his interview told local reporters he had seen a photograph as well as telling CNN he was shown one photo on a colleague’s Blackberry and after seeing them agrees with some who says that these pictures should not be released.  However, he isn’t sure it was authentic, stating, “I don’t know if it’s real or not.”

The top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Georgia, spoke to several news agencies including CNN  and described them as “what you would expect from somebody who’s been shot in the head. It’s not pretty.”  He believes the photos should be released stating, “”One of these days they’re going to be released; it’s a question of whether it be now on our terms or (let) somebody else do it.” However, later in the day, he also reports that he was shown the photo on an electronic device so has no way of knowing if the image he was authentic or not.

Another Senator and member of the Armed Services Committee,  Kelly Ayotte, {R-New Hampshire}, told reporters that another senator on the Armed Services Committee showed her a photo of Osama Bin Laden and that it “was just a facial shot….I saw a photo of him deceased,” and “The head area, obviously, he had been wounded. I can’t describe it – give any better description than that.” She too, believes the photos should be released.

However, the average person doesn’t have access to the information that these high ranking government officials have and yet they may think that pictures or videos have somehow been released and gone “viral.”  But the FBI warns that just as quickly as reports of bin Laden’s death went viral, computer hackers were at their keyboards creating “malicious software that features Usama bin Laden links to ensnare unsuspecting computer users.”   In a report released today they advise:

“The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) urges computer users to not open unsolicited (spam) e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages. Even if the sender is familiar, the public should exercise due diligence. Computer owners must ensure they have up-to-date firewall and anti-virus software running on their machines to detect and deflect malicious software.

The IC3 recommends the public do the following:

• Adjust the privacy settings on social networking sites you frequent to make it more difficult for people you know and do not know to post content to your page. Even a “friend” can unknowingly pass on multimedia that’s actually malicious software.
• Do not agree to download software to view videos. These applications can infect your computer.
• Read e-mails you receive carefully. Fraudulent messages often feature misspellings, poor grammar, and nonstandard English.
• Report e-mails you receive that purport to be from the FBI. Criminals often use the FBI’s name and seal to add legitimacy to their fraudulent schemes. In fact, the FBI does not send unsolicited e-mails to the public. Should you receive unsolicited messages that feature the FBI’s name, seal, or that reference a division or unit within the FBI or an individual employee, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.”

So think twice before you touch that link to a photo or video claiming to be of Osama bin Laden, because if some of the United States government doesn’t even know if it’s the “real deal” or not, then neither can you.

No related posts.

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IDSecrets,
You talked about Parallels Desktop for Windows. Where can I get a promo code to use it on my Mac?

Yes, we did talk about Parallels Desktop (for Windows) last week (or a couple weeks ago?).

You can see the link above to where you can get it for your Mac.

Use Parallels Desktop 6 on your Mac is pretty much the same as using it on your Windows machine.

According to the Parallels website, the company was founded in 1999 and now has over 700 employees on three continents. Parallels creates and supports a lot of different kinds of virtualization and automation software, but (at least as of the time of this writing), they’re best known for software which allows Windows and Linux Programs to be run inside of their own environments, while allowing the end user to be on their Mac.

“Virualization” is a fancy term and fancy way of saying that they create an operating environment within another environment.

But even that sounds overly technical.

To put it simply, Macs and PCs work differently.

Most everyone knows that.

What Parallels Desktop does is creates an environment where the Mac can understand PC programs, even though they are running on a Mac. (Parallels products can do the same thing for users of Linux as well.)

Parallels has been doing this for a while, hence their arrival at version 6 of Parallels Desktop.

With Parallels Desktop 6 on the Mac, most users find it really simple to run the vast majority of Windows and Mac applications side-by-side.

The majority of users also say how nice it is that parallels Desktop 6 operates much faster and more reliably than the earlier versions of the software.

One thing people also say that they really enjoy about Parallels Desktop 6 is how it actually puts Mac expressions into the Windows environment. This means that Windows programs actually function more like Mac programs while you’re working in them.

The ability to access folders and data across both Windows and Mac platforms with an easy and quick integration between both is the primary feature that makes this software so powerful. You have the ability with Parallels Desktop to work in both environments, or even in a Linux environment, without rebooting your computer.

Finally, one thing I think is really cool is that you can use Parallels Desktop 6 in the same way you do any other folders on your computer. All you have to do is drag-and-drop documents, pictures, music, movies, or really most file types, just as you would any other file. The difference is that you are actually working in two environments, but because of how seamless it is, it’s to tell when you’re in Windows and when you’re in Mac.

This is really pretty cool software, and I’ve repeated the promo code below for when you are ready to give Parallels Desktop 6 a try on your Mac.

————-
Promo Code for Parallels Desktop 6
(Save money with this promo code link)
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/parallels-desktop-6-promo-code
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Backups from Backblaze are good for a variety of reasons.

Obviously backing up your computer and your files is always a good idea.

One reason why Backblaze Backup is good is that it lets you back up your files really fast. Backblaze has developed a really unique software powered by “FSCAN Engine.”

If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry about it. We don’t (really) know what an FSCAN Engine is either.

However, what’s important to know is that Backblaze software works to make sure your computer speed isn’t affected by the backups your computer is doing.

The speed of your backups will be limited only by the speed of your Internet connection.

A normal home connection (DSL or cable) can backup 2 – 4 GB per day online. That’s just the standard measurement.

However, if you want to regulate and use more (or less) of your bandwidth for backups, Backblaze lets you choose how much of your Internet connection should be used for backups.

Backblaze will also enable you to check the speed of your Internet connection. This is done through their Backblaze backup speed test, which will allows you to make sure that whatever percentage of your Internet you want Backblaze to use is allocated correctly.

While backing up your computer, you will still be able to do all the things you like to do online (like watching YouTube videos and downloading (legal) music).

If you’re taking advantage of the trial offered by Backblaze, it’s not a problem if you haven’t completed your first online backup. All you have to do is simply test a restore point, which you can do whenever.

One of the other things that is truly great about Backblaze is that you can access your files using any web browser. This means that if you backed up a PC, but you’re on a Mac now, that’s not a problem. Or let’s say you backed up at home, but you’re on vacation and forgot the file on your laptop, it’s easy to log in online and grab your files.

Backblaze will also store up to four weeks from previous file versions for you. This means that if you want an old version of Backblaze, all you have to do is go to the date of the file that you want and get the file you worked on last week.

——————–
Backblaze Backup does have a trial.
Give the trial from Backblaze a try today.
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/backblaze-backup
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We really think Cyberlink builds some awesome products and software services. Of course there is YouCam, the program which lets you easily add image overlays for webcam chats and recordings. Cyberlink also has MediaEspresso, which we will be talking about in the next few days.

They also make the HD264 Pack for WMP.

This is a software pack for Windows Media Player (WMP) which gives you the ability to have high definition video playback easily embedded and working well in your Windows Media Player.

The HD264 Pack also works for Windows Media Center.

With this software, you get improved DVD playback performance because the software pack comes with the latest media formats. If you have a NVIDIA or ATI graphics card which has hardware acceleration support built in, you’ll see how the pack really improves your ability to enjoy high-definition video on your PC.

CyberLink’s stated mission is “to advance and innovate video and audio technology for the people’s enjoyment.”

I don’t know about “the people’s” enjoymeny, but this software pack can definitely advance your video technology to get more out of the DVDs and videos you’re watching.

You can get a coupon to save 50% off the HD264 Pack for WMP from Cyberlink through the link and code below.

—————————-
HD264 Pack for WMP
High Definition Video Playback Software Pack
http://www.identitytheftsecrets.com/cyberlink-coupon-hd264-pack-for-wmp
Click the link then enter the coupon code: QV4NAUF5Z
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