Veterans' Personal Information Compromised

Our own tech advisor Chris Null just had a terrible credit report experience that may take a few months to sort out. The worst part is that it wasn't his fault, somehow someone else's credit history was being merged into his credit report.

As a veteran, I was alerted to another story on my local news channel today that advised veterans to monitor their credit history and bank accounts for unusual activity. It turns out personal data and Social Security numbers of over 26.5 million U.S. veterans who have served since 1976, was compromised thanks to a Veteran Affairs employee who decided to take his notebook home which was stolen from his residence.

According to the article I found, Sen. John Kerry, who is a Vietnam veteran, is pushing for a legislation that would require the VA to provide credit reports to all the veterans affected by the theft, but don't hold your breath on that one for now. If I've learned anything about government procedures is that they take time, so in this case take matters into your hands. The VA has set up a number veterans can call if they feel their personal information has been misused. The number is 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) or you can visit their website for more information.

If you're a veteran, this would be a good time to exercise caution, and get a credit report from one of the major credit bureaus. Chris suggests going to AnnualCreditReport.com for a free annual credit report. I guess there's not much more we can do other than continue to monitor financial statements for unusual activity, and close any account that has been compromised. Here is a copy of a letter I hope most of us will be receiving.

While this VA incident may alert us to the real threat of identity theft, it's wise to always monitor your bank accounts and credit history because this sort of thing could happen to anyone.