Vets make easier mark for scammers on phone
Military veterans are a prime target for telephone scams and even more likely to end up as fraud victims than the general public, according to a new survey released by AARP.
The survey indicates that veterans can be victimized twice as often as the rest of the public. The research indicates that about 16 percent of U.S. veterans have lost money to fraudsters, compared with 8 percent of others during the past five years.
“What makes them more vulnerable is technology and patriotism,” said Doug Shadel, lead researcher for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.
Con artists will tell you, he said, that the best way to scam a vet is to pretend to be a vet. In general, veterans may be more willing to trust someone who claims to have served in the military than those who have not. And they may ask fewer questions about giving money to a charity that claims to support service members and veterans.
November is National Veterans and Military Families Month and a good time to remind vets that a call that seemingly comes out of the blue isn’t really a fluke at all. An amazing amount of information is available on databases and via social media that can help con artists accurately target veterans.
The AARP Fraud Watch Network and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced the launch of Operation Protect Veterans — a national campaign to warn the military about scams. Operation Protect Veterans will use ads, emails, social media and a new website to get the word out.
Scam warnings are being conveyed by phone, too, using the same tool as fraudsters.
Veterans lose money to all sorts of scams, including tech support scams, those involving fake business and job opportunities, and charity scams that play up connections to veterans. About 80 percent of the veterans surveyed said they have encountered scams that specifically target vets.
Watchdog groups warn that benefits buyout offers can turn out to give you just a small fraction of the value of the benefit and in some cases the vet could end up losing eligibility for benefits such as Medicaid and other assistance.
The ads online and elsewhere, however, hold out a different vision — of leveraging a military pension or benefits by exchanging a “future trickle of income for cold, hard cash in your hands today.”
Chad Wright of Salley, S.C., said he turned to one of these programs when he, his wife and four daughters were threatened with losing their home in 2013.
Wright, who served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1994, injured his spine during a parachute training jump. He receives 40 percent military disability. And he signed a contract with a company called BAIC to get a lump sum upfront in early 2014.
He thought he’d get a fairly large, five-figure payout. But before he got any money, the firm forced Wright to use most of the money to pay off existing creditors.
He ended up with about $8,000 from the benefits payout. Wright is a plaintiff in a suit filed against BAIC Inc.
“They’re using people,” he said. “It’s taking advantage of someone’s situation. I wouldn’t want to be the person making money off that.” Susan Tompor is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press.