7 Ways Veterans Can Protect Themselves From Scams

Veterans have served our country with honor and deserve to be protected from threats to their benefits and personal information. Unfortunately, scammers often pose as employees of the Department of Veterans Administration (VA) and contact veterans by mail, phone, email, and social media offering to help them access or file for benefits, for a fee.

March 5th is National “Slam the Scam Day,” organized by our Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness about government imposter scams. We want to remind veterans and their loved ones about the importance of staying informed.

How to identify and avoid scams

If you’re a veteran, here are 7 ways you can protect yourself:

1. Be cautious of companies that advertise that you can only get VA benefits with their help. These companies may charge illegal fees for services that you can get for free. You can check their credentials using VA’s online Accreditation tool.
2. If a company pressures you to sign a contract right away or take some other immediate action, that’s a red flag. If they insist “You must act now,” ignore them.
3. Disregard advertisements that promise an immediate or overly generous payout. Claims like these are also red flags. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
4. Be alert to “phishing” and requests for personal information about you, your benefits, medical records, and finances. The VA, like Social Security, will generally not call you to request information unless you have pending agency business. When we need to reach you or to update your record, we’ll mail you a letter with instructions.
5. Limit the personal details you share on social media. The more you post about yourself online, the easier it may be for criminals to use that information to access your VA accounts, steal your identity, and more.
6. Be careful about the websites you visit. Before doing business online, check for “https://” at the start of the website address. The “s” stands for “secure” – these sites use extra measures to keep your information safe.

7. Watch out for common red flags in emails, texts, and on social media. You should be suspicious of communication which:

   • Come from a public domain, such as gmail.com or yahoo.com. Emails from government agencies will generally end in .gov, like va.gov or ssa.gov.
   • Contain suspicious or random links or attachments and “urgent” requests for action.
   • Have misspellings and grammatical errors.

Where to get help and more information

• Report and learn more about Social Security-related scams at ssa.gov/scam.
• Sign up for free consumer alerts from the Federal Trade Commission and, if necessary, file a complaint at Reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• Report suspected fraud to the VSAFE Fraud Hotline at 833-38V-SAFE and find resources at VSAFE.gov.
• Subscribe to MilitaryConsumer.gov/blog for the latest news on scams.
• Visit Operation Protect Veterans, a joint program of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and AARP.

Please help us spread the message by sharing this important information with other veterans and loved ones. Don’t forget to join us on March 5th to help us “Slam the Scam.”