In 2021, military fraud victims lost 257 million dollars and lodged 200,000 complaints.
In recent testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee on National Security, the Federal Trade Commission stated that’s a 162 percent increase from the previous year. Further, data shows the average amount of money lost by military scam victims is a 20 percent increase from non-military scam victims.
Veterans, service members, military spouses and VA employees need to know the ways a scam artist can target you. Attacks generally happen through unsolicited phone calls and emails by people misrepresenting themselves, either by pretending to work for VA or an organization sympathetic to the military community.
Some scams prevalent in the military and Veteran community:
- Identity theft
- Pension poaching
- Coronavirus scams
- Investment fraud
- Schemes with various offers or military discounts.
- Illegal auto sales
- Deceptive claims and recruiting tactics for for-profit schools
- Sham charities that exploit the public’s desire to help Veterans
Veterans can take precautions (PDF) to minimize their chance of being a victim – being vigilant with personal information and watching out for aggressive fundraising tactics that ask to donate money to a “Veterans’ charity.“
How to stay safe
- Think twice if you receive emails or letters that look unprofessional and have misspelled words.
- See if a charity is legitimate by checking with Charity Watch.
- Get answers to your benefit questions by contacting VA Benefits Hotline. For other benefit-related questions, refer to this database.
- Make sure investment advisors are legitimate by checking with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority tool.
- Contact VA at 1-800-827-1000 if you receive correspondence from VA stating you filed a claim, but you did not.
What not to do
- Never assume a company or charity with a military-sounding name is legitimate.
- Never open emails from unknown senders that appear to be spam emails.
- Don’t make donations through FedEx UPS, or a similar carrier. Scammers use these shipping and receiving companies to avoid mail fraud charges.
- Never give out your personal or financial information to anyone unless you are confident who it is.
- Never pay for copies of your military records – you can get those for free at VA.
- Never wire money to strangers, even if they say they are Veterans.
- Don’t allow anyone access to your VA information unless that person is your authorized power of attorney.
If you are the victim of a Veterans-related scam, please contact the FTC by phone at 877-382-4357 or visit their website. Contact the VA Office of Inspector General for other ways to fight fraud.
