Potential Compromise of Personal Information

1. THIS MARADMIN IS TO NOTIFY YOU OF A POTENTIAL
COMPROMISE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION GENERATED BY AN EMPLOYEE OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (DVA); IT POTENTIALLY AFFECTS A
NUMBER OF VETERANS, AS WELL AS ACTIVE DUTY AND RESERVE PERSONNEL.
THE MARINE CORPS PRIVACY ACT OFFICE IS AWAITING FURTHER INFORMATION 
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (OSD) AND DVA TO 
DETERMINE THE EXACT SCOPE OF THE COMPROMISE AND TO ENSURE THAT 
MARINES AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE AWARE OF THE IMPACT AND STEPS THEY 
MAY TAKE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM ANY SUBSEQUENT MISUSE OF THEIR 
PERSONAL INFORMATION.
2. THE DVA CURRENTLY PLANS TO SEND OUT INDIVIDUAL NOTIFICATION
LETTERS TO ALL MARINES AFFECTED BY THE COMPROMISE. ADDITIONALLY,
WORKING WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, THE DVA HAS ALSO SET UP A
SPECIAL LINK AT THE WEBSITE WWW.FIRSTGOV.GOV/VETERANSINFO.SHTML AND
A MANNED CALL CENTER THAT AFFECTED PERSONNEL MAY CALL TO OBTAIN
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SITUATION AND LEARN MORE ABOUT CONSUMER
IDENTITY PROTECTIONS. THE TOLL FREE NUMBER IS 1-800-333-4636. THE
CALL CENTER WILL OPERATE FROM 0800 TO 2100 (EDT), MONDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY FOR AS LONG AS NECESSARY.
3. AT THIS POINT, THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY COMPROMISED DATA
HAS BEEN USED ILLEGALLY. HOWEVER, THE DVA IS ASKING ALL WHO HAVE
BEEN POTENTIALLY AFFECTED TO BE EXTRA VIGILANT AND TO CAREFULLY
MONITOR BANK STATEMENTS, CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS AND ANY STATEMENTS
RELATING TO RECENT FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS.
4. THE FOLLOWING ARE TIPS ON HOW TO WATCH FOR AND DETECT SUSPICIOUS
ACTIVITY:
 A. CLOSELY MONITOR BANK AND CREDIT CARD STATEMENTS FOR
FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS. MONITORING ACCOUNTS ONLINE IS THE BEST WAY
TO DETECT FRAUD EARLY.
 B. PLACE A 90-DAY FRAUD ALERT ON ALL CREDIT REPORTS, WHICH
TELLS CREDITORS TO CONTACT THE ACCOUNT OWNER BEFORE OPENING ANY NEW
ACCOUNTS OR MAKING ANY CHANGES TO EXISTING ACCOUNTS. THIS ACTION
MAY CAUSE DELAYS WHEN TRYING TO OBTAIN NEW CREDIT.
 C. THE INITIAL STEP IS TO CONTACT ANY ONE OF THE THREE CONSUMER
REPORTING COMPANIES FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO OBTAIN A COPY OF
CREDIT REPORTS AND/OR PLACE FRAUD ALERTS ON ACCOUNTS. THE CONSUMER
REPORTING COMPANIES ARE:
 - EQUIFAX: 1-800-525-6285, WWW.EQUIFAX.COM
 - EXPERIAN: 1-888-397-3742, WWW.EXPERIAN.COM
 - TRANSUNION: 1-800-680-7289, WWW.TRANSUNION.COM
THE COMPANY CALLED IS REQUIRED TO CONTACT THE OTHER TWO. ONCE THE
FRAUD ALERT IS CREATED, FREE COPIES OF THESE CREDIT REPORTS WILL BE
MADE AVAILABLE. SAILORS SHOULD REVIEW THESE REPORTS FOR INQUIRIES
FROM COMPANIES THEY HAVE NOT CONTACTED OR ACCOUNTS THEY DIDNT OPEN.
5. IF FRAUDULENT ACCOUNTS OR TRANSACTIONS ARE FOUND:
 A. CONTACT THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION TO CLOSE THE FRAUDULENT
ACCOUNTS OR ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE BEEN TAMPERED WITH.
 B. FILE A REPORT WITH THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT.
 C. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC).
6. ON JUNE 13, 2006, MANPOWER AND RESERVE AFFAIRS WILL BE STANDING 
UP A WEB PORTAL THAT WILL ALLOW MARINES TO INPUT THEIR SSN'S TO SEE 
OF THEY WERE PART OF THE VA'S AFFECTED LIST. PLEASE VISIT 
WWW.MANPOWER.USMC.MIL AND LOOK UNDER NEWS AND FEATURES FOR UPDATED 
INFORMATION RELATING TO THIS TOPIC.
7. ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS E-LEARNING PROVIDED ON THE NAVY KNOWLEDGE 
ON LINE (NKO) WWW.NKO.NAVY.MIL WEB SITE, COURSE TITLE: IDENTITY THEFT 
AND CATALOG CODE FS0406_ENG. LOG INTO NKO, CLICK LEARNING TAB, CLICK 
E-LEARNING AUTO-LOGON GEAR LINK, CLICK ADVANCED SEARCH, UNDER COURSE 
TITLE ENTER IDENTITY THEFT, ENROLL AND BEGIN TRAINING.
8. MARINES CAN ALSO VISIT THE FTC WEBSITE AT 
WWW.CONSUMER.GOV/IDTHEFT 
FOR INFORMATION TO HELP DEFEND AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT.