On May 23, 2006, we notified you about the theft of vital veterans’ data from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee. On June 6, 2006, it was announced that the data may also have included some 2.2 million active duty personnel.
On June 8, 2006, the VA notified us that they have hired a private vendor to assist them in determining the full details of the information that had been downloaded and subsequently stolen. At this time, due to objections from the Office of Management and Budget, there are no plans for VA to provide veterans with identity theft coverage. Currently, there have been numerous bills introduced in Congress to provide limited identity theft coverage to veterans. Those bills are listed below.
Again, we encourage every veteran to stay alert to potential misuse of the stolen information by monitoring credit reports and financial statements.
The VA has set up a call center at 1-800-333-4636. Information can also be accessed on the web using the following links: http://www.firstgov.gov/veteransinfo.shtml, www.va.gov/opa, and http://www.dav.org/news/news_20060522.html.
If you detect suspicious activity regarding your credit card or bank account, the Federal Trade Commission recommends you take the following four steps:
Step 1: Contact the fraud department of one of the three major credit bureaus:
- 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.
Step 2: Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
Step 3: File a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
Step 4: File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by using the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline by telephone: 1-877-438-4338, online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by mail at Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580.
The following bills have been introduced to protect veterans against identity theft:
S. 3176, the Veterans Privacy Protection Act of 2006, to protect the privacy of veterans and spouses of veterans affected by the security breach at VA. This bill contains multiple provisions dealing with the theft of data, protection of veterans against financial liability in the event of identity theft, and punishment of offenders.
H.R. 5487, the Veterans’ ID Theft Protection Act of 2006, would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take certain actions to mitigate the effects of the breach of data security, including notification of veterans affected, coverage of fees incurred in protection of data by veterans, and repair and restoration of the data system at VA.
S. 2970, the Veterans Identity Protection Act of 2006, would require the Secretary to provide free credit monitoring and credit reports for veterans and others affected by the theft of personal data, to ensure that such persons are appropriately notified of such thefts.
H.R. 4127, the Data Accountability and Trust Act, would protect consumers (not only veterans) by requiring reasonable security policies and procedures to protect computerized data containing personal information, and to provide for nationwide notice in the event of a security breach.
H.R. 5455 would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide free credit monitoring and credit reports for veterans and others affected by the theft of veterans’ personal data, to ensure that such persons are appropriately notified of such thefts, and for other purposes.
H.R. 5464 would improve information security for veterans
H.R. 5467 would amend title 38, United States Code, to establish criminal penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of records containing personal information about veterans.
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