KY closes down health insurance exchange copy-cat website

Sites copying the Kentucky state-run ACA insurance site are being shut down in the midst of a confusing gray area between a comprehensive and functional Kynect website and erroneous, back-end issues, Courier-Journal reported. 

Attorney General Jack Conway said he’s been closely monitoring the state’s exchange market for look-alikes that appear too similar to the state’s official site, Kynect.ky.gov. As nationwide reports state that IT administrators have fixed a number of technical issues, new problems arising during the transfer process of submitted personal information to insurers has many customers wondering if they’re actually covered. 

Conway asserted that copycat sites are simply trying to deceive and take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers. 

“Any time there’s uncertainty and apprehension and a lot of publicity, conditions are just ripe for scammers to prey on people,” Conway said. 

Some customers reported being directed to the site and felt that something was amiss. Many of those customers began to suspect foul play after being given incorrect information on the sites, Daily Journal reported. 

Mark Rasch, a former computer crime and fraud attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, supported Conway by saying that confusion surrounding the healthcare exchange market has been a prime opportunity for scam artists to steal identities of vulnerable customers. These offenders are difficult to identify and prosecute because there are so many operating on such a large scale, he said.