Veterans exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and other toxic substances during their military service may receive expanded health care and benefits under the PACT Act. That’s good news for millions of veterans.
Here’s the bad news: The PACT Act, signed into law in August 2022, created another opportunity for scammers to target and cheat veterans.
Posing as employees of the Veterans Administration (VA), scammers contact veterans by phone, mail, email, and social media and offer to help them access or file for benefits on their behalf – for a fee.
March 6 is National “Slam the Scam Day,” organized by our Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness about government imposter scams.
This year, we’re focusing on educating veterans about how they can identify and avoid PACT Act and other scams.
How to identify and avoid scams
If you’re a veteran, here are 7 ways you can protect yourself:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Be careful about the Internet sites 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.
- Watch out for common red flags in emails, texts, and on social media. You should be suspicious:
- If they 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.
- If they contain suspicious or random links or attachments and “urgent” requests for action.
- If they have spelling and grammatical errors.
Where to get help and more information
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 6 to help “Slam the Scam”.
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