Every Living Veteran

Update: This story gets better and better, or worse and worse. Whatever the story, it isn't pretty. I just wonder what else we don't know about this theft? What if you got out earlier and then collected the GI Bill? Or used any type of Veteran Services? I notice that it went from disk to discs. Support those troops.

The discs held the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other data on legions of veterans discharged from the mid-1970's onward, and their loss has set off widespread concerns that the information could be used in credit card frauds and other crimes linked to identity theft.

I believe I fall into this category. They kept this secret for 19 days. They have no respect for the people that physically served this country, we could have been notified earlier. Nobody is going to steal my identity, it won't do them any good, but there are others at risk.

CNN.com - Source: Theft of vets' data kept secret for 19 days - May 23, 2006: "The government did not immediately announce the theft because officials had hoped to catch the culprits and did not want to tip them off about what they had stolen for fear they would sell it, the government source said.

On Monday, officials abandoned that plan and alerted the public.

The computer disk contained the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of every living veteran from 1975 to the present, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson said Monday.

Nicholson told reporters that the FBI and the department's inspector general are investigating the matter.

Nicholson and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said there was no indication that the information has been misused.

Like I would trust the Attorney General on anything that had to do with constitutional law or my personal safety.

Gonzales and Deborah Platt Majoras, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, lead the Bush administration's identity theft task force. Gonzales vowed federal prosecutors would have "zero tolerance" for anyone implicated in trafficking in veterans' personal data.

"We have no reason to believe at this time that the identity of these veterans have been compromised," he said. "But we feel an obligation to alert veterans so that they can take the appropriate steps to protect this information."

The VA sent a letter to veterans informing them of the stolen data. Anyone with questions can contact the agency at (800) 333-4636 or through the federal government's Web portal, www.firstgov.gov."

Protect what information? It is already out there. Am I supposed to change my Social Security Number? Running credit reports every week will get expensive as well as tedious.

This administration can't even keep Veterans safe at home. What a bunch of losers. Talk about war and supporting the troops. Right into bankruptcy and homelessness. Now they will have to run around trying to prove who they are for the rest of their lives.

Nice.

Tags: I.D theft, veterans, Gonzales,