COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The personal information of over 1,000 veterans in Colorado may be at risk after a data leak.
The Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System accidentally sent an email containing personal details about veterans to 75 recipients.
The email, which was sent in January, included a spreadsheet with veterans’ full names, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. The VA had intended to attach flyers for an upcoming event, but the spreadsheet was mistakenly included.
When the error was realized, the VA attempted to recall the email but was unsuccessful.
A follow-up message was sent, asking recipients to delete the original email. Despite these efforts, the breach affected a total of 1,115 veterans.
Blake Schwank is an Army veteran, who is now the CEO of an IT service company. He shared frustration about the leak.
“As a veteran myself you know I expect the VA to carefully protect my information and to think twice before they send out an email with that kind of content in it because that is private," Schwank said. "To me both as a veteran and as a consumer and to know that that's out there in the wild, you know it is very frustrating.“
The VA responded to the incident with the following statement:
"Veterans affected have received a HIPAA Notification Letter in the mail containing details on what information was at risk. Veterans who have questions or concerns about whether their personal information may have been involved can call 1-833-935-6747 between the hours of 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday to gather information related to this breach."
Schwank told us, he has concerns about how scammers could exploit the leaked information.
“What they can do is use that for social engineering to then be able to share the information to sound like they’re legitimate,” Schwank said. “When you’re looking at your email, answering your phone, or receiving a text, it’s a reminder to be cautious.”
The VA is advising veterans who believe they may have been impacted to take extra precautions and stay alert for any suspicious activity.
