VA, to provide free credit monitoring for data theft victims.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced that it will provide a year's worth of free credit monitoring for veterans and active duty military personnel whose personal data was stolen from the home of a VA employee in May. Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson said veterans should be able to sign up for the optional credit monitoring service beginning in August, once a contract has been awarded and notices have been sent out to those affected by the data theft.

In May it was revealed that an employee, a data analyst, took home electronic data from the VA, which he was not authorized to do. The employee's home was burglarized, and the data was stolen along with a laptop and other computer equipment. The stolen data included names, social security numbers, dates of birth and some disability ratings for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses, as well as personal information on as many as 1.1 million military members on active duty, 430,000 members of the National Guard and 645,000 members of the Reserves. Importantly, the affected data did not include any of VA's electronic health records nor any financial information.

After the VA hires a credit monitoring company, the Department will send a detailed letter to people whose sensitive personal information may have been included in the stolen data. This letter will explain credit monitoring and how eligible people can enroll or "opt-in" for the services. The VA expects to have the services in place and the letters mailed by mid-August.

The VA is soliciting bids to hire a company that provides data-breach analysis, which will look for possible misuse of the stolen VA data. The analysis would help measure the risk of the data loss, identify suspicious misuse of identity information and expedite full assistance to affected people.

Secretary Nicholson said the VA also has instituted a comprehensive review of the department's data security policies and procedures.

"The DAV has expressed our concerns about this serious security breach to Secretary Nicholson and strongly urged that the VA take urgent corrective action to safeguard the personal information of our nation's veterans," said Washington Headquarters Executive Director David W. Gorman.

"Every veteran should stay alert to potential misuse of the stolen information by monitoring their credit reports and financial statements," said Gorman.

Secretary Nicholson said on May 22 there was no evidence that any of the stolen data had been used illegally, and that whoever stole it from the VA employee's home might be unaware of the nature of the information or how to use it.

People who believe they may be affected by the data theft can go to www.firstgov.gov for more information. The VA also continues to operate a call center that people can contact to get information about this incident and learn more about consumer-identity protections. That toll free number is 1-800-FED INFO (1-800-333-4636). The call center is operating from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm (EDT), Monday-Saturday as long as it is needed.

How to Guard Against Identity Theft

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it is not necessary in the case of this security breach for veterans to contact their financial institutions or cancel credit cards and bank accounts. But veterans need to be vigilant and monitor bank and credit card statements. Report unusual activity immediately to the financial institution involved and contact the Federal Trade Commission.

If you detect suspicious activity, do the following:

Step 1: Contact the fraud department of one of the three major credit bureaus:

* Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

* Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

* TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790.

Step 2: Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

Step 3: File a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

Step 4: File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by using the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline by telephone: [phone], online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, or by mail at Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580.