News Release
Information on Personal Data Loss from Department of Veterans Affairs
108,000 Montana Veterans Could Be Affected
5/24/2006
Sarah Elliott
406-444-9725
selliott@mt.gov
It is not known if the information has been or will be used inappropriately or illegally, but the possibility of identity theft does exist. Stolen information includes veterans’ names, dates of birth, social security numbers; and possibly spousal information. While no financial information or medical records are reported as compromised, it is possible that disability ratings were in the stolen data.
This potentially affects all living veterans who were discharged after 1975, when the VA began attaining information directly from the Department of Defense on all separating servicemen and women. The data loss also may affect any veteran, regardless of his or her period of service or discharge date, who has ever filed a claim for VA disability compensation, pension, education benefits, or who has a VA insurance policy.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has set up a special website at www.firstgov.gov and a toll-free telephone number for veterans that feature up-to-date news and information. Please check this webpage for further updates or call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636). This number will connect to one of 12 national call centers established due to this theft. Veterans should use this number rather than the number normally used for claims or benefits information.
All veterans should be particularly alert to the possibility of fraud. They also should become familiar with the details of this situation, as they emerge. In particular, veterans should be suspicious of any of the following:
- Inquiries from companies they haven’t contacted or done business with
- Purchases or charges on their accounts that they didn’t make
- New accounts they didn’t open or changes to existing accounts they didn’t make
- Bills that don’t arrive as expected
- Unexpected credit cards or account statements
- Denials of credit for no apparent reason
- Calls or letters about purchases they didn’t make
- Calls or letters from individuals representing themselves as VA, government, or consumer protection, who solicit personal information or money to "protect against the VA’s identity theft"
Veterans or anyone else who is suspicious of identity theft should seek a credit report. By law, individuals are entitled to one free credit report each year. Requests may be made from one of the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, TransUnion – at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. Direct contact can be made at:
- 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, Texas 75013 - TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com;
Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
More information about fighting identity theft can be found at: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
Appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs, have launched full-scale investigations into this matter.
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