Attorney General Larry Long Provides Tips to Protect South Dakota Veterans Against Identity Theft

PIERRE, S.D. - Attorney General Larry Long is urging all South Dakota veterans to be vigilant of their personal financial records to ensure against any attempts to steal their identity. The Department of Veteran Affairs recently released information about a security breach that may expose more than 26 million United States Veterans to identity theft. Social security numbers, dates of birth and data on veteran’s spouses are some of the information included in the theft.

"My Consumer Protection Division has not received any formal complaints that the stolen data has been used for theft purposes," said Long. "But I believe that South Dakota veterans should take some proactive steps to protect themselves." 

Attorney General Long provides the following tips:

• Check all bank and credit card accounts for charges that are not authorized. Consumer liability is limited to $50 for unauthorized credit card charges if you notify your creditor. 
• Call all three credit reporting agencies and report to them that you are a veteran and that your information may be part of the security breach. Request to have a fraud alert placed on your credit report to prevent an identity thief from opening any account in your name.
  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742
  • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
• Request a free credit report. Consumers can obtain a free credit report every 12 months by calling 1-877-322-8228 or online at www.annualcreditreport.com.  
• Contact the Veterans Affairs Hotline at www.firstgov.gov. This website has additional information regarding the security breach. The agency has also set up a toll-free information telephone number at 1-800-FED-INFO (333-4636).

For any additional information contact the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986 or log on to http://atg.sd.gov/Consumers.aspx.

-30-