Personal Data of Nearly ALL Active-Duty, Guard, Reserve and 26.5M vets stolen!

2.2 million active-duty personnel in VA data theft

Nearly all active-duty military, Guard and Reserve members -- about 2.2 million total -- may be at risk for identity theft because their personal information was among the data stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee last month.

In a new disclosure Tuesday, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said the agency was mistaken when it said over the weekend that up to 50,000 Navy and National Guard personnel were among the 26.5 million veterans whose names, birthdates and Social Security numbers were stolen on May 3.

The number is actually much higher.

More...

See, also: Springer gets a letter.

I'm surprised no one posted this yet!

And here's the real spooky part....forget about identity theft...what could our enemies do with such data?????????



[edit on 7-6-2006 by loam]

More on this:

Stolen VA data had phone numbers, addresses

[edit on 8-6-2006 by loam]

It is interesting though that there hasn't been any talk on repercussions to those involved or if it is espionage. All they say is that there is no evidence pointing to the use of this information as of yet. I read that they don't even know if the person knows he/she has it. It just shows again how incompetent many government agencies are today.

I saw this on the news, and I really thought it was kinda weird that they are downplaying it and the same week this information is made open to the public the #2 Most wanted is killed.. sounds like a scape to me

I guess it largely depends on the intelligence of the thief and whether or not they can utilize the information in a way that can cause widespread damage before they are caught.

In other words, will they use it themselves or auction it to the highest bidder?

Somehow, I'm not really sweating this.

Yeah, my husband got a letter informing him that he was in the list of stolen data.

I guess now a days nobody is without harm when it comes to people wanting to get personal information even the military.

Well, if they got my data too and have my phone number, its my poor sick mother who will be getting obscene phone calls late at night, since thats the last address and phone number I have on file.

Seriously though, I have a feeling they got more than names and phone numbers. There is ALOT of very personal and very sensitive stuff in any military file, active or not. Like medical and DNA records, amongst other things.

I wonder if there is some sort of class action lawsuit thats gonna happen. if so, sign me up.

Originally posted by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf

I wonder if there is some sort of class action lawsuit thats gonna happen. if so, sign me up.

The first post in this thread link's to the CNN article which states:

A lawsuit filed by five veterans groups on Tuesday demanded that the VA fully disclose which military personnel are affected by the data theft and seeks $1,000 in damages for each person.

On another note, has anybody has mentioned that information about the spouse of the military staff may have been compromised also. The letter I recieved says that. That should raise the number of stolen ID's a bit. I wonder if they will be part of the lawsuit also?

Originally posted by makeitso

The first post in this thread link's to the CNN article which states:

A lawsuit filed by five veterans groups on Tuesday demanded that the VA fully disclose which military personnel are affected by the data theft and seeks $1,000 in damages for each person.

On another note, has anybody has mentioned that information about the spouse of the military staff may have been compromised also. The letter I recieved says that. That should raise the number of stolen ID's a bit. I wonder if they will be part of the lawsuit also?

More than just spouse data. depending on exaclty how much of personal records were stolen, you also got data on children, parents, school records, ect.

In case anyone is interested in following up, I found the name of the veterans groups that have filed suit.

1)Citizen Soldier in New York
2)National Gulf War Resource Center in Kansas City
3)Radiated Veterans of America in Carson City, Nev.
4)Veterans for Peace in St. Louis
5)Vietnam Veterans of America in Silver Spring, Md.

There is also an activist group that has filed a suit.

*coughs*

Computer hacker steals personal info of 1,500 Energy Department employees

A hacker stole a file containing the names and Social Security numbers of 1,500 people working for the Energy Department's nuclear weapons agency.

But in the incident last September, somewhat similar to recent problems at the Veterans Affairs Department, senior department officials were told only two days ago, officials told a congressional hearing Friday. None of the victims was notified, they said.

The data theft occurred in a computer system at a service center belonging to the National Nuclear Security Administration in Albuquerque, N.M. The file contained information about contract workers throughout the agency's nuclear weapons complex, a department spokesman said.

More...

Tip of the iceberg....imo.



[edit on 12-6-2006 by loam]

Well, if they got my data too and have my phone number, its my poor sick mother who will be getting obscene phone calls late at night, since thats the last address and phone number I have on file.

My husband and I both got our letters on Sat. In regards to the last listed address don't worry. In the end of the letter they say that the IRS actually sent the letters on the VA"s behalf because the gov doesn't have updated addresses for inactive members.

I think that the big story here isn't the data loss, which has been previously reported on.

Its that the VA administration is actually trying to say that it was a random crime, that the employee didn't take the stuff to sell it to someone, that his house just happened to get robbed when he had this data illegal in his house.

Don't you think it odd that in an era where the government is redacting even the most simple of items from public view and classifying the information as a state secret, a single low level bureaucrat can have on a single laptop the names and addresses of EVERYONE of our active duty personnel????

How ridiculous is that????

I just got my letter from The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Charming.
In case any of you vets haven't got your letter yet here's a phone number if you suspect any suspicious activity with your personal info (strange calls emals etc. gawds like we don't get enough of THOSE already)
1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636)
Good luck.
I guess I'll be changing my name to Hojo Hominigrits after all.
See ya in Aruba

Originally posted by triptrippington
See ya in Aruba

Enjoy that tropical drink next to the guy who "shares" your name.

For those of you not affected or haven't gotten a letter and would like to see it, here it is...


Copy of Letter from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary

Sent to Veterans the Week of June 5, 2006

Dear Veteran:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently learned that an employee took home electronic data from the VA, which he was not authorized to do and was in violation of established policies. The employee's home was burglarized and this data was stolen. The data contained identifying information including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses, as well as some disability ratings. As a result of this incident, information identifiable with you was potentially exposed to others. It is important to note that the affected data did not include any of VA's electronic health records or any financial information.

Appropriate law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the VA Inspector General's office, have launched full-scale investigations into this matter. Authorities believe it is unlikely the perpetrators targeted the items because of any knowledge of the data contents.

Out of an abundance of caution, however, VA is taking all possible steps to protect and inform our veterans. While you do not need to take any action unless you are aware of suspicious activity regarding your personal information, there are many steps you may take to protect against possible identity theft and we wanted you to be aware of these. Specific information is included in the enclosed question and answer sheet. For additional information, the VA has teamed up with the Federal Trade Commission and has a Web site (www.firstgov.gov) with information on this matter or you may call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636). The call center will operate from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (EDT), Monday-Saturday, as long as it is needed.

Beware of any phone calls, e-mails, and other communications from individuals claiming to be from VA or other official sources, asking for your personal information or verification of it. This is often referred to as information solicitation or "phishing." VA, other government agencies, and other legitimate organizations will not contact you to ask for or to confirm your personal information. If you receive such communications, they should be reported to VA at 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636).

We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this situation may cause, but we at VA believe it is important for you to be fully informed of any potential risk resulting from this incident. Again, we want to reassure you we have no evidence that your protected data has been misused. We will keep you apprised of any further developments. The men and women of the VA take our obligation to honor and serve America's veterans very seriously and we are committed to ensuring that this never happens again.

In accordance with current policy, the Internal Revenue Service has agreed to forward this letter because we do not have current addresses for all affected individuals. The IRS has not disclosed your address or any other tax information to us.

Sincerely yours,

R. James Nicholson



I emailed the FirstGov response team asking what compensation they plan on giving those affected. My suggestion was to give those persons a promotional code to the three credit bureau's to upgrade our credit reports so we can see alerts as they happen. The credit reports that we get for free do not update and now we all have to take ANOTHER step to secure our identities.
We will see how far I get with that request.

D Day,
THAT makes a helluva a lot more sense than those groups filing suit! $1,000 to everyone affected?
Hell yes I could use an extra grand, but is it going to help the fact that my info is floating around? No.
Hitting the VA for 26 trillion ain't gonna do a damn thing but ruin the quality of care for all vets.
The kids coming home from Iraq will be fitted with wooden peg-legs and hooks rather than the state of the art stuff the VA is using now.
Pathetic.

Hitting the VA for 26 trillion ain't gonna do a damn thing but ruin the quality of care for all vets

Agreed! IF they pay up and that's a big if then it will come out of our benefits.
I haven't gotten a response yet from the email I sent but when I do I will be sure to post it here.

Well I received a response and it's exactly what I expected they would say.
Sorry we are not planning on doing anything for our vets but here's how to protect yourself. Good luck with that!

Here is how they responded to me:

Thank you for contacting FirstGov.gov.

We have reviewed your message in reference to what
compensation is being offered to those affected by the
stolen VA data.

At this time there are no special protections or
restitution that might be available for any losses related
to this specific incident.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has produced a booklet
to help you remedy the effects of an identity theft. It
describes what steps to take, your legal rights, how to
handle specific problems you may encounter on the way to
clearing your name, and what to watch for in the future.

The contents of the booklet, Taking Charge: Fighting Back
Against Identity Theft, are available on-line at:
www.ftc.gov...

We hope you find this information helpful.

We regret that we are unable to accept replies sent to our
mailbox; if you have any further questions about the
government, please do not hesitate to call our National
Contact Center at 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636), Monday
through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. eastern time, or send
us another message through our webform at:
answers.firstgov.gov...

Regards,
FirstGov.gov Citizen Response Team