Deployment and data breaches both raise the odds that a service member's personal information ends up in the wrong hands. The good news is that military families have access to protections civilians don't, starting with a free active duty credit alert that requires lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name. Combine that with a credit freeze, a designated personal representative, and a close eye on your DEERS records, and you can significantly cut your risk of identity theft. This guide walks through exactly what to set up before you leave, what to do the moment you learn your information was exposed, and how spouses can keep monitoring the family's credit while a service member is overseas.
Why Military Families Face a Higher Risk of Identity Theft
Identity thieves target military families for a few specific reasons. Deployment often means unmonitored mail at a home address, a change of duty station that scatters paperwork, and long stretches where a service member can't check their own accounts or credit reports in real time. On top of that, military personal information has been swept up in a string of high-profile data breaches over the years, including breaches affecting the Defense Department and major credit bureaus. The numbers back this up. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), military consumer complaints tied to identity theft debts climbed nearly fivefold between 2014 and 2022, from just over 200 a year to more than 1,000. In 2021 alone, military consumers filed roughly 50,000 identity theft reports with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). For service members, the stakes go beyond a damaged credit score: unresolved debt or fraud on your record can complicate a security clearance review.
