New Vet scam !!!

[Berta]

"Watch Out for Veterans Benefits Scams

I know that many veterans get frustrated with the delay of waiting for a decision form VA about their veterans disability benefits.  Often it takes many months or years to make sure that VA reaches the correct decision on your case.

Unfortunately, some scammers are trying to take advantage of this frustration that veterans experience.  Veterans who are taken advantage of by this scam risk their personal and financial information.  I wanted to publish this article to make sure that veterans know about this scam so they can avoid it.

What is this new veterans benefits scam?

You have probably heard about email and phone scams that try to collect personal and financial information.  Email scams may indicate that your bank needs you to verify some information or needs some information to correct an error from your account.  Phone scams sometimes often take the same approach.

This new veterans benefits scam seems to take the same approach.  VA is reporting that veterans are receiving phone calls from people who say they are attorneys from VA’s Office of General Counsel.  These scammers request money in exchange for processing the veteran’s claim for VA benefits.

Given the long times that many veterans wait to get the benefits they should, it is easy to see why a call from someone impersonating VA is a scam that could work.  Apparently, these calls may very well show up as coming from “Veterans Affairs” on caller ID.

We want to make sure that scammers cannot take advantage of veterans who are waiting on a decision from VA.  Awareness of these scams is the best way to prevent scammers from taking advantage of veterans.

What should I do if I receive one of these scam phone calls?

VA has written an article that discusses these scams.  That article talks about what veterans should do if they receive one of the phone calls.

One of the most important things that VA mentions is that you should not give out personal or financial information.  They say you should hang up the phone immediately.  You can also report the incident to your state’s attorney general and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

If you already received a phone call and provided personal or financial information to the scammer or sent them money, VA’s article also has information about what you should do in those situations.

Other questions?

I hope this information is helpful to you.  Please share it with other veterans you know so that they can be sure and avoid becoming a victim of these scams and other similar ones.

If you have questions about veterans benefits, please feel free to reach out to our office by calling us at (770) 741-1184 or completing and submitting our free consultation request form."

This is in email from Travis Studdart, fromPerkins and Studdart Law Firm- we did one or two shows with him for Blog Radio.He represents vets with claim issues.

His web site is here:

https://veterans.perkinslawtalk.com/

Edited May 16, 2018 by Berta

[broncovet]

Good post, good advice.  When the VA "does" call, they "may" ask you for your last four, or possibly your branch of service, to verify its you.  Sometimes they ask you the dates of your service.  I would not advise giving them anything else.  

There is something called "Ip spoofing" which may even lead you to beleive the call is from the VA.   (Hackers can fake the caller id.)  If you are unsure, then ask them their phone number, and call them back.  Check an independent source to verify this is a VA phone number.  

At least one Veteran reported that hackers changed their banking info and stole at least one VA check.  

[Holllie Greene]

Thank you for this information.

H