You've heard of identity fraud?

You won't believe this story. I went to the local WalMart yesterday to fill a prescription for my honey. After a few minutes of shopping I heard my name over the loudspeaker telling me to return to the pharmacy. Huh? (there's a weird sensation that accompanies your name being called on the loudspeaker) I went back and the lady informs me that she can't fill the prescription because I just had it filled two weeks ago. Huh? Huh?? I proceed to tell her that I couldn't possibly have filled the prescription two weeks ago. This is the first prescription "S" has ever had for this condition. She decided to call the insurance company back to question them further. They assure her that we had the prescription filled on February 21st. She asks them if they would tell her the name and number of the pharmacy where the prescription was filled. They proceed to give her the name of a pharmacy in PENNSYLVANIA!! For those of you who don't know us very well...we don't live anywhere near Pennsylvania. We haven't traveled to Pennsylvania. We don't even know anyone else who lives in Pennsylvania. Kim (the name of my wonderful pharmacist) decided to dig a little deeper. She called "Giant" pharmacy in Pennsylvania to see if they could tell her anything more. They said that indeed a S***** filled a prescription on February 21st. He had the same birthday and the same insurance number as my dear "S". Something is definitely screwy!

Well, after a lot of investigating, this is what we have discovered. There is a man in Pennsylvania with the same name as my hubby. He actually even has the exact same birthday. Same name, same birthday, same acid reflux, same prescription. Unbelievable! He changed insurance companies last year. He neglected to bring his new insurance card to the pharmacy with him last June. So, the kind pharmacist typed his name and birthday into the computer and pulled up our insurance number. He has been filling prescriptions with our insurance company ever since. Three pages of prescriptions to be exact! He doesn't even have the same insurance company that we do. You would think there would be some kind of "checks and balances" for these type of things-- Some red flags that would pop up on the computer. Like this man is filling prescriptions in two different states at the same time!! Oh no. We had to practically shake our insurance rep to get her to understand that they have been paying hundreds of dollars for pharmaceuticals for a man that isn't even in their system! Apparently now they are finally getting it. They are hot on the trail of Pennsylvania "S" to retrieve some of their money. Poor guy, he doesn't have any idea any of this has transpired. Sheesh!