Cook County Veterans Service Officer Pat Strand passed along an article showing how scammers in Utah were defrauding military veterans and their families.
What takes place in this con is that a veteran will get a call from someone claiming to be from the U.S. government. The caller will then say that because of the pandemic that the veteran’s benefits would increase by $400 per month. The catch, of course, is that the veteran must provide his or her full name, date of birth, Social Security number, branch of service etc.
These callers are aggressively going after veterans and disabled veterans. They use caller ID’s that look like they are legitimate government agencies. In one Utah case the caller knew the name of the veteran’s wife, “which means they know I’m his fiduciary and the person to speak to,” she told Utah authorities.
It is important to remember that veteran’s benefits are not contingent to providing information over the phone.
If you receive a call from someone who you believe is trying to scam you, call the Cook County Law Enforcement Center (218-387-3030) to report it. To obtain information about your military benefits, call 801-326-2372.
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