A Nokesville woman who had her Social Security number stolen from the billing department at the Prince William County Hospital has filed over $60 million in lawsuits against the hospital, a temp agency and several credit companies.

Suzanne Sloane was the victim of identity theft in August 2003, when Shovana Sloan stole her Social Security number from hospital billing records and used it to open fraudulent credit accounts.

Sloane had left her Social Security number with the hospital months before, when she'd been a patient preparing to give birth to her second son.

"When people think of identity theft, they think about a waiter stealing a credit card number, or online shopping. Not the hospital," said John Sloane, Suzanne's husband.

The lawsuit against the hospital centers on the fact that Shovana Sloan was a convicted identity thief before she was hired to work in the hospital's billing department.

...

As a result of the identity theft, the Sloanes' credit ratings have plummeted, and the family has gone through extensive strife trying to repair their credit history.

I'm sure people expect a higher standard at a hospital, but like any business, the hospital has to hire, fire, and bill, which puts lots of patient's personal information in the hands of many office workers. PWC Hospital's problems here shold be a wake-up call to all companies who insist or allow the use of the Social Security number as a customer identifier.

It's fortunate that this victim had good luck in seeing this person caught.

Technorati Tags: Prince William County, identity theft