Cybercriminals Have Vets in Their Sights

Veterans are victims of cybercrimes at a much higher rate than civilians. And it’s not just veterans, included are military spouses, survivors, active-duty personnel and our families. This is no doubt because of our benefits and the goodies to be had after stealing from us.

To tackle the problem, the Department of Veterans Affairs is stepping in and partnering with outside groups like the Cybercrime Support Network (cybercrimesupport.org), whose motto is Recognize, Report and Recover. It’s about time … over the past five years, veterans have reported cybercrime losses of more than $420 million.

The CSN’s mix of initiatives includes ScamSpotter (ScamSpotter.org), with practical consumer advice about how to spot and avoid fraud and scams.

Especially for us is Fight Cybercrime (fightcybercrime.org/military). Its crime-fighting partners are pretty impressive, and include the Disabled American Veterans and Army Emergency Relief. Look over the site for a resource library for us, law enforcement and businesses. Interesting topics include how to reduce your risk of ransomware, determining if a text message is fake or real, being safe in online gaming and even a pre-vacation checklist.

A recent Fight Cybercrime webinar touched home for many of us: How to keep your business information safe when you’re working from home and sharing your online connection with children. Past webinars are worth watching as well: staying safe on social media, avoiding a scam from a government tax imposter, and covid scams, which seem to be everywhere.

So, we have the tools. The information and resources are out there. But we need to take advantage of all that’s offered to avoid becoming another cybercrime statistic.

One of the biggest problems with cybercrime is that we don’t always report it. We’re embarrassed because we thought we couldn’t be fooled … until we are. Do your part. If you get scammed, report it.