COLORADO COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM ARMY BASE AT FORT CARSONTheDenverChannel.com - News - Personal Records Of Fort Carson Soldiers StolenPersonal Records Of Fort Carson Soldiers Stolen
Some Soldiers Stationed In Iraq

POSTED: 1:54 pm MDT September 12, 2005
UPDATED: 3:37 pm MDT September 12, 2005

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The Army said Monday that thieves stole computer equipment containing Social Security numbers and other personal records of a number of soldiers, some of whom are serving in Iraq.

Fort Carson spokeswoman Dee McNutt said she did not know how many soldiers' records were involved or how many of them are in Iraq but that no cases of identity theft had been reported.

Fort Carson has thousands of soldiers in Iraq, including members of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Computers or hard drives were stolen in mid-August from a building on the post in Colorado Springs where soldiers get identification cards and update their personnel records, McNutt said.

Records taken also included soldiers' date of birth, rank, unit, citizenship and job.

McNutt said the soldiers and their families have been warned to watch their credit card and bank statements in case someone uses their records to open accounts or make unauthorized purchases.

Federal law allows military personnel to have an "active duty alert" placed on their credit reports when they deploy overseas to protect them from identity theft, said Holly Petraeus, senior program consultant for BBB Military Line, a partnership between the military and the Better Business Bureau..

The alert requires businesses to verify the identity of anyone applying for credit under the name of active-duty military personnel, Petraeus said.

"Their best defense is to watch for anything unusual and keep an eye on their bills and credit reports," she said.

Petraeus, whose husband is an active duty soldier, said she has heard of soldiers being "cleaned out" by identity thieves while they were overseas. Some were sent home to try to sort out their finances, she said.

The Air Force in August reported a suspected hacker tapped into a military database containing Social Security numbers and other personal information for 33,000 officers and some enlisted personnel.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Command is investigating the Fort Carson break-in, but there are no suspects, McNutt said. She said the break-in occurred on a weekend, but she did not know what time of day.

Command spokesman Chris Grey did not immediately return a call.