THANK YOU Federal Government!

:eyes:

fucking assholes.

yup. my VA info was on that stolen laptop. now I have to have all my accounts "Flagged" at all 3 credit bureaus so anytime i try and open ANYTHING financial for the next 3 months they have to call me and put me through the ringer to make sure it's me.

ALL VETERAN'S out there should be doing the same.

Here are the #'s:

The Three Credit Bureaus
Equifax, 800-525-6285, TDD 800-255-0056, www.equifax.com <http://www.equifax.com/> ;
Experian, 888-397-3742, TDD 800-972-0322, www.experian.com <http://www.experian.com/> ;
TransUnion, 800-680-7289, TDD 877-553-7803, www.transunion.com <http://www.transunion.com/> .

Is there a procedure to have your SSN changed?

if you call experian at the # above, they will report the flagg to the other 2 agencies

I went through this two years ago. It is a pain in the patootie.

and possibly one more piece of information, they've got it forever?

That's insane

My drivers license was stolen back when my state used SSN for DL numbers. It was a friggin nightmare.

The SSA will issue you a new number if you can show that the continued use of your number puts your life in danger, subjects you to abuse, or exposes you to regular harassment. The vast majority of replacements are done for people fleeing domestic abuse, where the SSN can be used to track someone.

One or two instances of identity theft isn't going to qualify you for a new number, but if you can show a repeated pattern of theft from someone continually using your number, it may qualify as harassment and be grounds for a new number.

I cannot tell you what a huge pain in the ass it is. The SSA will issue you a new number, but all the money you've paid in over the years will still be under your OLD number. Medical records, state tax records, and just about every other record you have will ALSO be under the old number, and you will have NO way to prove that the old number was really you (they won't issue new cards until you turn in the old ones). On top of that, many companies, government programs, and banks will NOT change your SSN for you. When that number changes, you will have to re-apply, set up entirely new accounts, and basically start over with everyone. Your credit report will also be wiped, meaning that you will have absolutely no credit anymore (remember how hard it was getting financed for anything when you were 18? You'll get to do that all over again).

From the standpoint of the government and most private sector companies, you essentially become a different person when that SSN changes, and you get to deal will all the difficulties that go along with that.

anything financial..."? My DH is a vet and other than checking that the amounts in our accounts haven't been messed with, we haven't done anything yet.
Thanks.

or a gas card
or ANY kind of loan...

(or, more importantly anyone ELSE does under your name)...

the agencies will automatically call you and verify it really is you. i'm told you'll likely have to fax in photo id too

nobody to look after the stuff here. Sad.

I have been trying to wait to ride the storm out before I call anyone, but I guessyesterday would've been better. jerks.

What troubles me is that each proposal I've heard treats this like a short term problem. Next 3 months, even Kerry's plan only stretches out 3 or 4 years imsc. SSN and birthdate don't change. We are potentially fucked forever.

I have a friend that is being bombarded with requests and has had all kinds of wierd things happen to him lately. He does not understand why, his liver could slide out of his body any day and the VA knows about it.

Appreciate it.

Thanks.

announcing the "theft" and telling me that since i was a Vet after 1975, my data COULD be compromised

:)

I suppose I'll be getting a letter too.

keep in mind, this was stolen over 2 weeks ago. better safe than sorry

I think it's dumb to make baseless assumptions

TIA

I just purchased monitoring service at 4.95 a month with 20,000 insurance against ID theft.
Will this be okay or do I need to flag or freeze my accounts?

call the bureau's and ask them what you should do

When I purchased that monitoring service that also put in a fraud alert for my name. The credit bureaus are suggesting that anyone who received info from the VA that they put on fraud alert on their name. It will go to all 3 credit bureaus.

This is a pain in the ass...

and I will pass this information on to him... He lives in Military Town of San Antonio, I am sure they are buzzing about this....

:sarcasm:

put a fraud alert on.

TKX for the info.

as my brother. I'm sure he'll be happy hearing this.:sarcasm:

Subject: Statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs


Office of Media Relations
Washington, DC 20420
(202) 273-6000


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2006

A Statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs


The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recently learned that an employee, a data analyst, took home electronic data from VA, which he was not authorized to do. This behavior was in violation of our policies. This 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. Importantly, the affected data did not include any of VA’s electronic health records nor any financial information. The employee’s home was burglarized and this data was stolen. The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

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. It is possible that they remain unaware of the information which they possess or of how to make use of it. However, out of an abundance of caution, VA is taking all possible steps to protect and inform our veterans.

VA is working with members of Congress, the news media, veterans service organizations, and other government agencies to help ensure that those veterans and their families are aware of the situation and of the steps they may take to protect themselves from misuse of their personal information. VA will send out individual notification letters to veterans to every extent possible. Veterans can also go to http://www.firstgov.gov to get more information on this matter. This website is being set to handle increased web traffic. Additionally, working with other government agencies, VA has set up a manned call center that veterans may call to get information about this situation and learn more about consumer identity protections. That toll free number is 1-800-FED INFO (333-4636). The call center will be open beginning today, and will operate from 8 am to 9 pm (EDT), Monday-Saturday as long as it is needed. The call center will be able to handle up to 20,000 calls per hour (260,000 calls per day).

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson has briefed the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, co-chairs of the President’s Identity Theft Task Force. Task Force members have already taken actions to protect the affected veterans, including working with the credit bureaus to help ensure that veterans receive the free credit report they are entitled to under the law. Additionally, the Task Force will meet today to coordinate the comprehensive Federal response, recommend further ways to protect affected veterans, and increase safeguards to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents. VA’s mission to serve and honor our nation’s veterans is one we take very seriously and the 235,000 VA employees are deeply saddened by any concern or anxiety this incident may cause our veterans and their families. We appreciate the service our veterans have given their country and we are working diligently to protect them from any harm as a result of this incident

who was in the US armed forces and discharged between 1 Jan 76 and Mar 06, their name, social security number and birth date is on that disk.

Putting aside for a moment the personal problems this may cause 26.5 million people (she holds up husband's and her hand), one thing I've noticed that hasn't been commented on: Given that social security numbers are the key into all gov't records, this has a huge intelligence gathering potential in the wrong hands because, for example, Colin Powell's SSAN is on that disk, his and all the other flag officers who made their start during the Nam War. This includes a bunch of congresscritters and other federal high rankers.

I heard that Sugie has offer a $50,000 reward for information or return, no questions asked. Psst Sug, that's chump change compared to the potential and even if the disk is found, there's absolutely no guarantee that it wasn't copied. If I were those thieves, I'd be sweating razor blades right now; the FBI is the least of their worries.

So yeah, the next time Smirky runs his mouth about 'protecting us from them terraists', put on your hip boots and turn on your crap detector. This is a Mongolian Cluster Fuck.