200,000 US Marines at Risk of ID Theft

Stars and Stripes is reporting that over 200,000 Marines may be at risk for identity theft after loss of portable drive.

A portable drive with personal information on more than 207,750 Marines was lost earlier this month, possibly jeopardizing those troops' credit records and privacy.

In a message sent out to Marines, officials said the information was encoded and so far they've seen no evidence the information is being abused. But, because the data could be used for criminal purposes, they are asking all Marines to be on guard for signs of identity theft.

According to officials from the Manpower Information Technology Branch, the portable drive was part of a Naval Postgraduate School research project. The information was being used in research about the effectiveness of re-enlistment bonuses, but it was lost in a computer lab on campus in Monterey, Calif.

The drive contained the names, Social Security numbers, marital status and enlistment contract details for enlisted Marines on active duty between January 2001 and December 2005.

Comments

[The real Danny Lents - IdTheftAwareness.com]

I'm a military veteran. I became an ID theft victim after leaving the service. Educating others about identity theft has become my passion.

The military exposes social security numbers everyday. I'm amazed they still use it as the identifier. They need to revert to pre-1967 practice of using a unique service number.

Military hospitals are a very fertile ground for identity thieves. The patient actually wears a hospital bracelet with the sponsor's social security number displayed for all to see.