26.5 Million Veterans Personal Info Stolen

[Pistlpetet]

By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Personal data, including Social Security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans, was stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee this month after he took the information home without authorization, the department said Monday.
http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=ueUDnUSO...2744.8524463.9434682.1442997/D=LREC/B=3717746
Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said there was no evidence so far that the burglars who struck the employee's home have used the personal data — or even know they have it. The employee, a data analyst whom Nicholson would not identify, has been placed on leave pending a review.
"We have a full-scale investigation," said Nicholson, who said the FBI, local law enforcement and the VA inspector general were investigating. "I want to emphasize, there was no medical records of any veteran and no financial information of any veteran that's been compromised."
"We have decided that we must exercise an abundance of caution and make sure our veterans are aware of this incident," he said in a conference call with reporters.
The theft of veterans' names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth comes as the department has come under criticism for shoddy accounting practices and for falling short on the needs of veterans.
Last year, more than 260,000 veterans could not sign up for services because of cost-cutting. Audits also have shown the agency used misleading accounting methods and lacked documentation to prove its claimed savings.
Veterans advocates immediately expressed alarm.
"This was a very serious breach of security for American veterans and their families," said Bob Wallace, executive director of Veterans for Foreign Wars. "We want the VA to show leadership, management and accountability for this breach."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who is a Vietnam veteran, decried the breach and said he would introduce legislation to require the VA to provide credit reports to the veterans affected by the theft.
"This is no way to treat those who have worn the uniform of our country," Kerry said in a statement "Someone needs to be fired, the perpetrators need to be caught and the security system at the VA needs to be massively overhauled."
On Monday, the VA said it was notifying members of Congress and the individual veterans about the burglary. It also set up a call center at 1-800-FED-INFO and Web site, http://www.firstgov.gov, if veterans believe their information has been misused.
It also is stepping up its review of procedures for the use of personal data for many of its employees who telecommute as well as others who must sign disclosure forms showing they are aware of federal privacy laws and the consequences if they're violated.
Nicholson declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, which involved a mid-level career employee who had taken the information home to suburban Maryland — on disks, according to congressional sources who were briefed on the incident — to work on a department project.
The residential community had been a target of a series of burglaries and the employee was victimized earlier this month, according to the FBI in Baltimore, which was investigating the incident.
The material represents personal data of all living veterans who served and have been discharged since 1976, according to the department. The information was included in the veterans' discharge summary that goes into a government database.

 

[HarryParatestes]

Why would the VA give a single employee all of that information? Then, why has this person and their supervisor not been fired yet?

 

[XShipRider]

Doesn't pass the smell test.

1) Why did he have real data at home? There is absolutely no need to
take real data home for any project. He could easily have created
false data to test any program.

2) 26.5 million veterans? As of the 2000 Census there were 26,549,704
US veterans in the 50 United States and Puerto Rico. The
same census shows only 210,845,117 persons over 18 in the US.
This guy took home ID-theft quality information on over 10% of the
US over-18 population!!! Hmmm...makes me wonder whether this wasn't an
inside job to steal this information under the guise of a burglary.

What's even more bothersome is the fact that if he was in fact stealing
the information, you can bet copies have already been made of the
disk in question. This makes it virtually impossible to recover.

How much do you want to bet this data analyst isn't a veteran?

 

[El-Rushbo]

Here is some info that may help us out. Not the highlighted section especially.

Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too.
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you're entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit reports. Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain. Check that information, like your Social Security number, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct. If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Fraudulent Information in Credit Reports to learn how. Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occurred.


What is a fraud alert?

There are two types of fraud alerts: an initial alert, and an extended alert.


• An initial alert stays on your credit report for at least 90 days. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial alert is appropriate if your wallet has been stolen or if you've been taken in by a "phishing" scam. When you place an initial fraud alert on your credit report, you're entitled to one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies.
Note: If anyone choses to try this, I would advise against stating the reason being the VA identity theft news issue. The burecratic mindset of most customer service people doesn't allow for thinking very far outside the box. I would just use one of the above cites examples. Therefore they have less ability to deny you the service. Just a suggestion.
• An extended alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you've been a victim of identity theft and you provide the consumer reporting company with an "identity theft report." When you place an extended alert on your credit report, you're entitled to two free credit reports within twelve months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. In addition, the consumer reporting companies will remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened credit offers for five years unless you ask them to put your name back on the list before then.
To place either of these alerts on your credit report, or to have them removed, you will be required to provide appropriate proof of your identity: that may include your Social Security number, name, address and other personal information requested by the consumer reporting company.
When a business sees the alert on your credit report, they must verify your identity before issuing you credit. As part of this verification process, the business may try to contact you directly. This may cause some delays if you're trying to obtain credit. To compensate for possible delays, you may wish to include a cell phone number, where you can be reached easily, in your alert. Remember to keep all contact information in your alert current.

 

[YeOldeProp]

El-Rushbo....excellent post.

 

[dtfl]

I went to Experian and there is a link on the left for this situation. You can use that link regardless of your situation - it allows you to put a 90 day alert on your credit "reports" for free and you get a credit report. I believe you can put a longer alert on the reports..but not sure.
Basically for 90 days - no one can open credit in your name with out them calling YOU to verify.
Good deal - and free

 

[Miyagi]

A fraud alert is a weak fix at best. I have had one before and it was a pain in my arse as I tried to open up a line of credit at a clothing store but otherwise was transparent to me. Little did I know that the alert can be legally ignored. A security freeze, on the other hand, locks down your credit report so virtually no one can get it. You will need to realize that it will be a pain, and may cost you money in some states, but you will be able to selectively release the freeze so you can get credit lines established. It just depends on whether you want pain you know is coming or waiting for someone to sneak up on you and give you the big suprise enema from your backside. Personally, I am going to file a police report tomorrow morning and send it to the three credit bureaus ASAP and freeze my credit reports.

Fraud Alert

Fraud alerts will not necessarily prevent someone else from opening an account in your name. A creditor is not required by law to contact you if you have a fraud alert in place. Fraud alerts can legally be ignored by creditors. If you suspect that you are or have already been a victim of identity theft, fraud alerts are only a small part of protecting your credit. You also need to pay close attention to your credit report to make sure that the only credit inquiries or new credit accounts in your file are yours.



Security Freeze

Security freezes are designed to prevent a credit reporting company from releasing your credit report without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who is allowed access to the personal and financial information in your file may delay, interfere with or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance, government services or payments, rental housing, employment, investment, license, cellular telephone, utilities, digital signature, Internet credit card transaction or other services, including an extension of credit at point of sale.

When you place a security freeze on your file, you will be provided a personal identification number or password to use if you choose to remove the security freeze from your file or authorize the temporary release of your credit report for a specific person or period after the security freeze is in place. To provide that authorization, you must contact the reporting agency and provide all the following:

1. Sufficient identification to verify your identity.
2. Your personal identification number or password provided by the credit reporting company.
3. A statement that you choose to remove the security freeze from your file or that you authorize the reporting agency to temporarily release your consumer report. If you authorize the temporary release of your consumer report, you must name the person who is to receive your consumer report or the period for which your consumer report must be available.

A security freeze generally does not apply to circumstances in which you have an existing account relationship and a copy of your report is requested by your existing creditor or its agents or affiliates for certain types of account review, collection, fraud control or similar activities.

If you are actively seeking credit, you should understand that the procedures involved in lifting a security freeze may slow your own applications for credit. You should plan ahead and lift a freeze, either completely if you are shopping around, or specifically for a certain creditor, a few days before actually applying for new credit.

 

[Afterprop]

All great info.

Something else to consider . . . you are authorized one free credit report per year from each company. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, passed by Congress in response to soaring identy theft claims, consumers can request one free credit report every 12 month period from each of the three national credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Make sure you use the correct web site; there are several that are close, but they charge you to "monitor" your credit, and provide you what is your's for free; if you follow the rules. Use the www.annualcreditreport.com. Every four months, I contact one of them and request my free copy to review it for any accounts that I have not opened. Thus far I haven't found anything yet . . . I mean, who'd want to be me. Hell, I don't want to be me half the time. Cheers . . .

Keepin' Level~n~True ;-)

 

[Pistlpetet]

On Tuesday, the Montgomery County, Md., police department stepped up efforts to apprehend the burglars, asking the public to contact authorities if they recently purchased a used Hewlett-Packard laptop or HP external drive.
Anyone who purchased a used Hewlett Packard Laptop model zv5360us or HP external personal media drive after May 3 was asked to call Montgomery County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Anyone with the stolen equipment can turn it in anonymously and become eligible for the $50,000 reward, police said.

 

[XShipRider]

On Tuesday, the Montgomery County, Md., police department stepped up efforts to apprehend the burglars, asking the public to contact authorities if they recently purchased a used Hewlett-Packard laptop or HP external drive.
Anyone who purchased a used Hewlett Packard Laptop model zv5360us or HP external personal media drive after May 3 was asked to call Montgomery County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). Anyone with the stolen equipment can turn it in anonymously and become eligible for the $50,000 reward, police said.

One word ... E-Bay.