What Every Veteran Should Know About Identity Theft
by Lisa Carey
Over 26.5 million veterans found themselves at risk for identity
theft in 2006 when a federal employee's lap top computer,
containing important personal information such as name, date
of birth, address and social security number, as well as benefits
eligibility. Another 16,000 veterans were at risk when a government
contractor's lap top computer was stolen from his home.
It
is a common practice for the VA to contract out certain jobs
such as software support and insurance billing and claims
resolution to a subcontractor. According to a statement issued
by the Veterans Administration this is done in order to provide
better customer service. But what happens when this "customer
service puts the customer at risk of identity theft and false
claims for benefits?
In
this the most recent incident, of a contractor, the contracting
company, Unisys Corporation offered free credit reports to
those affected. However, free annual credit reports are already
available through the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Veteran's
Administration also claimed that it works closely with contractors
in developing the "highest standards" of protection
and security. However, it does not designate what systems
are in place to protect a veteran's information. The federal
employee who took home veterans information on a laptop computer
was required to undergo computer security and regulations
training.
Thousands
of people were or may have been affected by this lack of stringent
rules regarding the protection of their information. And the
options available to them after the information may have been
released were not comforting. They were advised to obtain
their free credit report, monitor it (at an additional charge
to the veteran) and then to report to local law enforcement
authorities any problems with their credit or instances of
identity theft.
Veteran's
circumstances and the effects of identity theft are unique.
Many veterans are recipients of additional benefits such as
education and medical that most people are not. Their children
may also be eligible for specific benefits, either monetary,
educational, home buying or medical. This makes identity theft,
an already serious problem, even more complicated.
Veteran's
whether they feel their information is at risk or not should
be extra vigilant. In addition to taking many of the steps
to protect their personal, financial, and medical information
they should go many steps further to protect their information,
their benefits and the benefits for their family. Be sure
to install virus and anti spyware to protect information contained
on your computer. Do not conduct personal or financial business
at work, as it puts you at risk of being overheard. You may
not be as protected by the business computer security system
as you think you are. Consider placing a "credit freeze"
on your credit information. This requires the three major
credit agencies to contact you to "lift" the freeze
before making any changes to or issuing any new credit in
your name. You may take steps yourself to perform the credit
freeze or you may use a service such as Trusted ID.
In
the event your credit, personal, financial or benefits information
appears to be at risk or "stolen" you should do
the following: dispute the information on your credit report
and ask the three major credit reporting agencies of TransUnion,
Experian and Equifax to place a fraud flag on your credit
file. Contact the credit lenders and advise them of the situation
as stated on your credit report. Placing a fraud alert insures
that additional steps are taken before new accounts or changes
to existing account in your name can occur.
Although
everyone should review their Social Security Benefit information
to determine if their benefits have been illegally used, veterans
in particular should review both the Social Security Benefits
statement as well as their Veterans Benefits eligibility.
To order a Social Security Benefits report, contact the Social
Security Administration office.
The
first step for protecting veteran's information is for government
agencies and contractors to take those efforts necessary to
protect this information. The next step is for veteran's to
do all that they can to keep their information private. However,
in the event these efforts are not effective veterans much
report and dispute false or incorrect information on their
credit report or other service reports. It is necessary after
reporting to the local law enforcement to contact the Veteran's
Administration office as well as your State's Attorney General's
office and The Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT
(1-877-438-4338).
Lisa Carey - About the Author: Lisa
Carey is a contributing author for Identity Theft Secrets:
prevention and protection. You can get tips on Identity theft
protection, software, and monitoring your credit as well as
learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the
Identity Theft Secrets blog
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