VA sends CT veteran other veterans’ personal information in data breach

(WFSB) - They keep our country safe, but their personal information isn’t.

That’s according to one Connecticut veteran who says the Veteran Administration put him in an awkward position.

Army Veteran Rafael Castro called the I-Team after the VA sent him something they shouldn’t have.

We helped solve the problem.

Rafael Castro loves his job at Chuck and Eddie’s Used Auto Parts.

But he also wants to start taking online business classes soon.

“Looking forward to that. Waited a long time and just want to further my education,” says Rafael Castro.

Having served in the US Army for more than ten years, Castro applied to do so through the VA’s Veteran Readiness and Employment program.

“I love serving my country. No greater pride than serving my country, and fellow vets,” says Castro.

He called the VA two weeks ago to follow up on his claim.

A worker said they’d be sending over an email.

They did send an email, except Castro received another veteran’s claim, and all the paperwork that comes with it.

“It was a name, an address. What the award was going to monthly, full diagnosis medical and social security number,” says Castro. “If I was a bad guy I could probably do a lot of credit card applying.”

Castro says he called the VA to let them know what happened, and they told him they’d look into it.

“Then they told me I had to personally return the documents and I said ma’am whether I return the documents or not, they’re sitting in my email - anything is possible,” says Castro.

When he didn’t hear back, he called the I-Team.

We found a friend of the veteran whose information Castro received, and was able to connect the two.

We are not naming that veteran for privacy reasons.

“He was stocked, he was ecstatic. He was very very thankful, very very grateful. And he just couldn’t thank me enough. He was a great guy. And he just couldn’t believe his personal information was sitting on my lap,” says Castro.

In a statement the Veteran Benefits Administration “did confirm there was a data breach.”

They said “the VBA data breach response service is going to investigate how this incident happened to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

“It’s obvious that the system is not bulletproof and they definitely need to look into it,” says Castro.

The VBA said they would be offering the veteran whose information was compromised, a letter offering credit protection services.

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