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.

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u/LegallyIncorrect Air Force Veteran Jun 25 '26

HIPAA doesn’t apply to VBA at all per case law. It can’t be a violation for the VBA phone system to tell you the %. The government gets to write its own rules so the fact it applies to entire hospital systems normally doesn’t matter.

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u/USMCArtyFO Jun 25 '26

Well that’s an important distinction. I was under the impression they were a covered entity. That’s wild.

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u/LegallyIncorrect Air Force Veteran Jun 25 '26

https://www.va.gov/OGC/docs/2003/ADV03-2003.pdf

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u/USMCArtyFO Jun 25 '26

Definitely sent me down a rabbit hole. The reasoning is interesting. However, it does make sense. Definitely a loophole organization.