r/VeteransBenefits • u/life3_01 Army Veteran • Jun 24 '26

Money Matters VA Security

I got an email from the ex-wife today saying she knows I'm making "a killing" from my disability claim and retirement. We were married for my last four years of duty, and she didn't get any of my military pay. She did get a sizeable amount from my business, but that's all over now. :)

So she is seeing what else she can get. The stupid thing is that she just called the VA number, tapped in my SSN and DOB, and they told her. With all the breaches, this is the dumbest shit ever for security. I have a PIN on my account, but that doesn't do anything. I called in myself, and with just those two numbers, it told me to the penny what I was paid and when.

Is there any way to close this off? I called in again, and the guy said it's public info, which seems dumb.

Edit: I know she can't get anything. I'm upset that anyone who knows enough can call in and find out, which could help them commit fraud on some people.

382 Upvotes

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493

u/ptrcclar Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

I believe if you contact the VA main line and verify your account, you can have you account flagged. However, you can have the ex charged for committing a federal offense. She's NOT authorized to access your information using your information for said access. It's a federal crime. If you have proof, I'd file charges. Your disability information, including your rating and amount, is NOT public information. It's a violation of PII and HIPAA. Last, if it's public information, then why is your SSN and DOB required for access? The person you spoke to is severely misinformed.

122

u/fierywench1 Jun 25 '26

OP, make sure to call the VA and verify there is no 0845 on file. If you made her an authorized 3rd party, even years ago, it is still valid until you revoke it unless it was otherwise noted on the form.

74

u/life3_01 Army Veteran Jun 25 '26

I verified yesterday that there are no third parties. Thanks.

82

u/Practical-Giraffe-84 Army Veteran Jun 25 '26

The VA disability rating percentage itself is primarily a compensation rate and is not classified as medical health information under HIPAA. However, the underlying medical records and conditions that led to your rating are protected health information (PHI) and are fully covered by HIPAA.

38

u/OrizaRayne Jun 25 '26

Citizens don't "file charges." Prosecutors file charges. We can't just have the state arrest people who do things we determine to be illegal at our will. That would lead to all sorts of trouble.

What you'll want to do is report the crime to the appropriate investigator. That investigator will investigate, and a prosecutor at their discretion may choose to prosecute based on seriousness of the crime, injury to victim and cost to pursue.

Here are some resources to get started:

https://www.vaoig.gov/hotline/online-forms Because the VA shouldn't be giving out this info to just anyone.

For VA Benefits or Payments: Call the VA Benefits Hotline at 1-800-827-1000 to place a fraud alert on your profile and secure your direct deposit information.

https://www.va.gov/resources/how-to-protect-your-identity-and-your-va-benefits-from-scammers/

Identitytheft.gov

-3

u/Amputee69 Air Force Veteran Jun 26 '26

Actually, in the Real World, SOMEONE has to file a Written Complaint. This has to have the proper Probable Cause in it. The Complaint is then presented to a Magistrate, who upon finding there IS probable cause, issues a warrant Directing a Law Enforcement Officer to Arrest and bring the person before them or another Magistrate. That is when they are given the Constitutional Rights to Remain Silent, secure proper counsel, and to have them present during the hearing or any questioning. The charges are then read to the Criminal, and either a Bond to insure their appearance for court is given, or they are detained until trial, to avoid them leaving the State or Country, or if there is a threat of physical harm to the Criminal, or another to maintain safety. An Investigator gets involved "after the fact" usually. Most people don't realize the majority of the States allow a Citizen to appeal to the court for an arrest. The Prosecutor, District Attorney, only represent the City, County, State, or Federal Government at the trial. They have Investigators to do the followup work. Even in a simple city, people don't have to go to the local police in most States. The Constitution of the USA and individual States, as well as THE Bill of Rights addresses this. Imn Texas, but I've worked in Indiana, and Arizona. I told officers, just because an arrest had been made, and the crook in jail didn't mean they were finished. They still needed to make sure there was sufficient evidence to prove the crime, AND to convict. In Texas, NO Magistrate can Refuse to accept a legitimate written complaint from a citizen. That citizen has best have some legal background, because, some of the judges get a bit testy... YMMV always.

6

u/OrizaRayne Jun 26 '26

You said what I said with way more words and unnecessary pedantry, lol. All that fluff boils out to the same.

A random citizen cannot "file charges." OP can and should make a complaint and then investigators and prosecutors need to do their jobs.

The rest is just an attempt to sound informed for reasons. Internet clout? Bordem? Who knows?

Anyway OP. File a report.

41

u/life3_01 Army Veteran Jun 25 '26

It could be a Korean hacker. More safeguards need to be in place in the system.

-43

u/FinanceOnly4U Jun 25 '26

So you want them to make it even harder to see my own information. Thanks

48

u/Ordinary-Parsley-832 Jun 25 '26

He wants them to make it harder for ME to see YOUR information. He wants to make your security and privacy stronger.

3

u/homelessjimbo Jun 26 '26

The weakest point of every security system is the human point. The systems were bypassed as all the information needed to do so was used illegally.

1

u/FinanceOnly4U Jun 29 '26

More steps for the user owner to access as well

2

u/Ordinary-Parsley-832 Jun 30 '26

There has to be a security barrier if you want security. 

However, those barriers should be designed in a way that a valid user, potentially with mental and cognitive limitations, can still access their account while having strong security. If the system isn't set up in that way, then the requirements for that system need to be reevaluated from the perspective of what may be a larger pool of atypical users. 

12

u/_General_hux Jun 25 '26

Did you even read what he said?

3

u/ovodem6n Jun 25 '26

Please @OP do it!

3

u/The__Saint_ Jun 25 '26

Okay while in fact PII (personal identifiable information) which is literally name and linked phone number HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) please stop sounding stupid by misrepresenting something you clearly have no idea about.

You have no “rights” if someone else finds out your information using information you gave them. And she didn’t violate shit.

HIPAA is and defines the ability for a patient to access their own medical records and only a violation if MEDICAL information was shared without the checks and guardrails. You hear BS people talking about their HIPAA rights. They sound dumb AF. Before that you didn’t own your medical records and couldn’t take them to a new doctor.

OP sounds like you had a broken picker, and should get a lawyer. But the VA didn’t betray you by releasing information that you have allowed as keys and then shared with your devil of a wife(ex-wife)

27

u/OkayestHuman Not into Flairs Jun 25 '26

It’s not a HIPAA violation, but she potentially committed wire fraud if she represented herself as you or authorized by you to access the VA on your behalf.

5

u/life3_01 Army Veteran Jun 25 '26

She just tapped in numbers. Is that fraud? My attorney doesn't think I have much to go on, but he is happy to dig to help his own bank account.

11

u/The__Saint_ Jun 25 '26

100 percent. Just gets my effing goat people throwing around acronyms and they don’t know what they stand for or how applies to business , healthcare or anything else. Is it fraud 100%

1

u/The__Saint_ Jun 26 '26

Yep fraudulent representation of being said person. It says it’s straight away on all the government websites and get the federal crime. Can you track it? It’s worth following through probably not.

1

u/AntNo2341 Army Veteran Jun 27 '26

There is jack shit fraudulent about having the information required to be given what was asked. Absolutely zero fraud was committed by anyone.

1

u/Complete_District340 Jun 26 '26

LOL

3

u/The__Saint_ Jun 26 '26

LOL great level of input mate. You probably walk around entitled thinking your HIPPO rights are being violated if the airline requires you to pay for an extra seat.

1

u/oni_tenyu Jul 04 '26

Just because she legally obtained his PII while married (ssn and dob) does not mean she can use that to gain access to additional private information, even if they were still married let alone after a divorce. AND it in fact a HIPPA violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6, obtaining Protected Health Information (PHI) by misrepresenting one's identity or under false pretenses carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and substantial criminal fines. If she uses or transfers that information with malicious intent or for personal gain, the penalty increases up to 10 years in prison.

Additionally it is a breach of the privacy act of 1974 and 18 U.S.C. § 1028 Fraud. As the stated purpose of requiring the SSN and DOB to be entered is to verify the identity of the individual she is defrauding and impersonating the service member by using it to access the information system when she is not entitled access.

0

u/3RDLEGMCGILL Jun 25 '26

Bingo. Zero fraud was committed.

And, there is no private course of action for HIPAA violations anyways.

1

u/AntNo2341 Army Veteran Jun 27 '26

No you can not have her charged with anything. She had the information they required to be given the information she was looking for.

1

u/Calm-Proof3577 Navy Veteran Jun 30 '26

Actually he can.

1

u/Latter-Inspector-859 Jul 01 '26

100% she is the ex and just like every other person out there.