Millions of vets at risk
WASHINGTON – As many as 26.5 million veterans were placed at risk of identity theft after intruders stole an electronic data file this month containing their names, birth dates and Social Security numbers from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs employee, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said Monday.
The burglary occurred May 3 in Wheaton, Md., according to a source who did not want to be identified.
A career data analyst, who was not authorized to take the information home, has been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations by the FBI, local police and the inspector general of the VA, Nicholson said. He would not identify the employee.
“They believe this was a random burglary and not targeted at this data,” Nicholson said. “There have been a series of burglaries in that community. … There is no indication at all that any use is being made of this data or even that they know that they have it.”
Nicholson said affected veterans include anyone discharged since 1975 and some of their spouses, as well as some veterans discharged before that who submitted a claim for VA benefits.
The news upset at least one Spokane veteran.
Allen Ward left the Air Force in 1978 after 24 years of service. He wasn’t reassured by the idea the theft may have been random, and that the information may not be used for criminal purposes.
“If I’m going to jail for breaking into a house, I’m going to jail for identity theft, too,” said Ward of the thief.
He added that he’s long been worried about identity theft, shredding all personal documents. Now all of his precautions could be for nothing because of the actions of one VA employee.
“If my identity is stolen, who’s going to foot the bill?” he asked rhetorically. “It’s not going to be the VA. It’s going to be me.”
Veterans calling the VA’s toll-free hot line aren’t being given much additional information. In fact, no one can even tell them if their specific information was stolen.
“I tried to call this morning, and the lines were so swamped that (a recording) said to call back later,” Ward said.
The line is designed to accommodate up to 260,000 calls a day, but at that rate it could take more than 100 days to answer calls from all 26.5 million veterans who may be affected.
The theft represents the biggest unauthorized disclosure ever of personal Social Security data, and could make affected veterans vulnerable to credit card fraud if the burglars realize the value of their haul, one expert said.
“In terms of Social Security numbers, it’s the biggest breach,” said Evan Hendricks, publisher of Privacy Times newsletter and author of the book Credit Scores & Credit Reports. “As long as you’ve got that exact Social, most of the time the credit bureaus will disclose your credit report, and that enables the thief to get credit.”
Democrats on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs issued a statement calling on the VA to restrict access to sensitive information to essential personnel, and to enforce those restrictions.
“It is a mystifying and gravely serious concern that a VA data analyst would be permitted to just walk out the VA door with such information,” the statement said. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said his panel would hold hearings on information security at the VA.
Nicholson would not discuss specifics of the incident, saying disclosing details could hurt the investigation. The data set did not contain medical records or financial information, but in some cases had disability ratings, he said.
Although publicly revealing the incident might tip off the thieves to the value of their booty, Nicholson said VA officials decided veterans needed to know to monitor their credit scores and credit card and bank statements.
The VA plans to send letters to every veteran notifying them that their personal information has been compromised, Nicholson said.