Page 3 - Newsletter Jul 2018

Protect Yourself from Identify Theft

The most common form of benefits theft is for someone to access a Veteran’s eBenefits account and change the bank deposit
information. While this isn’t common (there are 7-million active eBenefits accounts), 870 Veterans have been victims of VA
benefits theft this year–and most only notice after the funds are late, when the thief has already stolen their money.

How to protect yourself

Safeguarding personally identifiable information (PII) is a Veteran’s
best defense against being the victim of identity theft. Veterans
should never disclose PII, such as social security number, date of
birth, etc., to an unknown third party, and they should regularly
change their eBenefits and other account passwords.

Additionally, VA employees will never ask you for your account
password. If someone says they are from VA and asks for your
password, do not give it to them.

To help combat identity theft when personal information is changed
in eBenefits (such as banking information), VA will send the
beneficiary an email to notify him or her that changes were made on the account.

VBA Incident Team

VA takes identity theft allegations and the security of Veterans’ information seriously. When a theft case is reported or
suspected, VA investigates the incident and determines what actions are needed to protect the Veteran’s benefits, and then
reports those responsible for the alleged theft.

To help protect Veterans, VBA has established a specialized incident team as a quick-reaction force to quickly resolve identity
theft incidents. The team will work with the beneficiary to correct changes to their account and ensure they receive their reissued
benefits quickly.

VA has implemented new identity-theft alert protocols for VA Regional Offices and National Call Centers, as well as added a
fraud prevention contractor to assist in identifying these illegal activities and patterns before they occur.

The team has been successful in tracking down and retrieving funds which were deposited in fraudulent accounts. By working
with law enforcement and using proactive and preventative measures, VA has been able to recoup $5,394,377.34 of
$5,418,910.77 in misdirected funds since August 2015.

Veterans who suspect they have been the victim of identity theft related to their VA benefits should call VA at 1-800-827-1000 as
quickly as possible to report an incident.

Link: https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/50303/protecting-identity-theft/

Q&A

Things to Know About VA Home Loan Eligibility:

VA LOAN ELIGIBILITY IS EARNED

Most service members are told that they will be eligible for a VA loan if they stay in long enough. Generally, service

requirements are as follows:

• 2 years for regular service members

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