Thursday, June 04, 2015

Baltimore riots: Prescriptions, personal information stolen during looting

The "space to destroy" given by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to rioting thugs continues to reap an ugly harvest.

From the Tidewater Review:
As looted prescription drugs flood Baltimore streets, fueling a surge in violence, pharmacy chain Rite Aid warned customers Wednesday that their personal medical information could be on the streets, too.

Store officials said the labels on prescriptions stolen during the late April riots included patient names, addresses and the names of medication, but not other sensitive data such as Social Security numbers or credit card numbers.

The alert nonetheless raised concern among privacy advocates who said the information could be used for fraud. Rite Aid has hired a risk management firm to help protect customers from identity theft.

The risk also extends to customers at looted pharmacies across the city. The Drug Enforcement Administration is reviewing surveillance footage from 27 pharmacies to possibly file charges against looters, and a spokesman said the agency would help monitor for any reports of medical identity fraud.

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