VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8)

Report ID: SPE000000071270, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Reported Entity: VISN 08 Tampa, FL

Issue:

The VA Police notified the Privacy Officer (PO) of a possible identity theft. A Veteran reported to the local police that his identity was stolen sometime around August 2010. The local police conducted an investigation and the investigation resulted in an arrest of a person. The person who stole the information stated he got the Veteran's personally identifiable information (PII) from the VA on the floor near one of the doorways. Update: 02/02/12:Update from VA police - document allegedly used to commit identity theft cannot be reproduced. VA spoke with local police investigator and the individual arrested stated he discarded the piece of paper used to steal the identity. The paper used contained name and full ssn of the Veteran A. Veteran A did have numerous appointments at the VA clinic where the incident occurred. The suspect is also a Veteran (B) and had numerous appointments at the same VA clinic on and around the same dates. There is no record of a record release being processed through ROI.Therefore Veteran A will receive a letter offering credit protection services.

Outcome:

Without knowing what document was used it was not possible to determine how the document ended up on the floor of clinic. Veteran had received educational information at appt on or around the time of incident. The Clinic Chief Medical Officer contacted and currently reviewing areas where documents containing individual information being printed can be discontinued. Privacy/ISO in-service planned for next month's all clinic staff meeting.

Related Reports:

1 other violation reported on the same date. Note that other citations may be about the same event: SPE000000071265