How Fraud Perpetrators Target Military Personnel and Veterans

According to the Federal Trade Commission, veterans lost approximately $60 million to fraud in 2020. Active-duty military personnel and their spouses and dependents also suffered big financial losses to fraud last year. In fact, in 2020, military consumers lost more than the general public to fraud — a median $600 compared to $311 for nonmilitary consumers. Here’s what you and military friends and family need to know. Beware of imposters The greatest fraud threat to this group is “imposter” fraud. In this scheme, a criminal calls, emails or texts potential victims and pretends to be working for the Veterans Administration or another government agency. Perpetrators may claim they need personal information, such as Social Security or bank account numbers, to authorize the release of benefits. Instead, they...