Last week, the story of an Airman who was targeted by an online job scammer was shared widely within our community. This story included a false claim that the Veterans Employment Center™ (VEC) website was breached. I want to make it clear that there was no breach of information on the VEC site.

The VEC puts the safety and security of Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families first by storing only general profile information, such as email addresses. The VEC does not store resumes, addresses, phone numbers, dates of separation, or any personally identifiable information (PII). VA reports all suspicious activity, suspected corporate fraud, or phishing activities immediately to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and we immediately referred this case to them once we discovered a Veteran had been targeted by an online job scammer.

If you or anyone you know has been the victim of corporate fraud from any of the external organizations who use VEC, there are three steps to take immediately

*   Report the fraud to your local police;

*   Contact the VEC team at oeoecsupport.vbavaco@va.gov; and

*   File an online report with The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

There are many proven ways to reduce the chances of becoming the next identity theft victim.  Here are some general tips for protecting your identity and for avoiding a few of the most common identity theft situations.

VA is dedicated to providing the safest possible environment for Servicemembers, Veterans and their families to connect to meaningful career opportunities through the VEC. We appreciate the support of all our partners who help us in this mission.

We are dedicated to keeping your info as safe as you have kept us.

LaVerne H. Council is the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology And Chief Information Officer Department of Veterans Affairs

 

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One Comment

  1. DannyG October 17, 2015 at 14:47

    Speaking of breaches, ever since the gov’t breach a few months ago, I have been rec’vg numerous emails from chinese co’s, & phishing emails from sites who’s first language is obviously not english, & the referral, “click here”, if you will, link usually contains the words
    “wu_fu” . Just wondering if anyone else has seen these, or if I’m just a paranoid, old, PTSD-riddled Proud American Veteran. ?

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