| I found out that Identity Theft (IDT) existed in | | | | not been accessed, and apologized again. I was an |
| May of 2006 when my husband and I received a | | | | insurance agent at the time, and in August of |
| letter from The Department of Veterans Affairs | | | | 2006 I received a similar letter from State |
| (VA), advising us that, "The VA has recently | | | | Corporation Commission Bureau of Insurance. |
| learned that an employee took home electronic | | | | In August of 2007, I received a similar letter from |
| data from the VA, which he was not authorized | | | | Monster, the on-line resume repository. In June of |
| to do and was in violation of established policies. | | | | 2009, I received a letter from the Department of |
| The employee's home was burglarized and this | | | | health Professions, with the subject "Data Breach |
| data was stolen." | | | | Notification". The letter stated in part "On April 30, |
| That was our first knowledge that IDT existed. | | | | 2009, DPH became aware that the Prescription |
| The letter went on to offer information about | | | | Monitoring Programming (PMP) computer system |
| what the FBI was doing, how to contact the | | | | had been accessed by an unauthorized user." It |
| Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and what to do | | | | went on to say, "You are receiving this letter |
| if we received strange phone calls and | | | | because your social security number may have |
| correspondence. The letter then apologized for | | | | been contained in the PMP data furnished by the |
| any inconvenience or concern that this situation | | | | pharmacy where you filled your prescriptions." |
| may cause; and that they believed that it was | | | | The letter recommended to periodically obtain and |
| important for us to be fully informed of any | | | | carefully review my credit report from each |
| potential risk resulting from this incident. | | | | nationwide credit report agencies, and request |
| The letter went on to say that they wanted to | | | | that fraudulent transactions, if any, be deleted |
| reassure us that they had no evidence that our | | | | from the report. It gave some other suggestion |
| "protected" data had been misused, and that they | | | | of what to do if suspicious activity was found on |
| would keep us apprised of any further | | | | my credit report. |
| developments. Did we believe that? "Uh-No". | | | | When I received the first letter, I stood up and |
| In June of 2006, an associate approached us with | | | | took notice. I started to read everything that I |
| a legal product MLM that he was selling. We | | | | could find about Identity Theft. A course was |
| listened to him as a favor to him. At the end of | | | | offered through the Institute of Consumer |
| the DVD presentation, there was information | | | | Financial Education and The Institute of Fraud Risk |
| about IDT, and there was an IDT Protection and | | | | Management about IDT. I took the course and |
| Restoration product attached. We purchased the | | | | was certified as a "Certified Identity Theft |
| product and we still have it. | | | | Management Specialist (CITRMS). |
| That was not the end. We received another letter | | | | I was so overwhelmed with the information that I |
| from the VA in August of 2006 informing us that | | | | learned, and I knew that there were people out |
| the laptop and the hard drive had been | | | | there like me that did not know the danger, the |
| recovered, and that the FBI had told them they | | | | scope, and devastation of Identity Theft, that I |
| were highly confident that the sensitive data had | | | | decided to write a book. |