Your prescription drugs in the wrong hands can be deadly.

Every year you hear stories about people who die from taking medicine prescribed to someone else. But there’s also another danger if someone gets a hold of your pill bottles – someone could steal your medical identity.

Medical ID theft is the fastest growing type of ID theft. And the NC Attorney General’s top ID theft expert was disappointed in all the prescriptions we found in salvage cars. But she also pointed out that just throwing these in the trash is just as dangerous.

Think about it – a prescription label has a lot of information on it – your name, address but more importantly – the prescribing doctor’s name. A thief could try to call and pretend to be you. And it’s not just get a prescription they can get in your name.

“The prescribing doctor has a file and in that file is going to be a lot of private information. And depending upon the level of security and protections in place at that doctor’s office, that’s where the risk comes into play,” says Caroline Farmer with the NC AG’s office.

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February 24, 2016 By Lechelle L Yates, WFMY 2 CBS News