In response to the growing number of online fraud reports against the military community, AARP recently launched its Veterans Fraud Center, a new education and resource hub to help protect Veterans, service members and their families.
The data
Just last year, an AARP survey found that one in three active-duty military members and Veterans have lost money to at least one fake service-related offer.
Additionally, the number of fraud attacks against the military community jumped 69 percent compared to the previous year, according to the 2021 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Of those 110,827 reports of fraud, 26 percent resulted in financial losses, which totaled $267 million. Individual victims within the military community reported losing more money than their civilian counterparts, with a median loss of $600, compared to $500 for civilians.
“Targeting scams at members of the military community is unconscionable,” said Troy Broussard, senior advisor of AARP’s Veterans and Military Families Initiative and U.S. Army Desert Storm Veteran. “The AARP Veterans Fraud Center is designed to alert Veterans and their families about the latest scams and how to avoid them.”
AARP’s free resources
AARP’s Veterans Fraud Center offers free information on the latest scams targeting the military community, tips for spotting other types of consumer fraud, and specially tailored resources to help protect Veterans and military families.
They include:
- The new AARP “Watchdog Alert Handbook: Veterans Edition,” highlighting tips for detecting the most common ways con artists target Veterans and military families.
- The AARP Fraud Watch Network and Scam-Tracking Map.
- Operation Protect Veterans, a joint program of the AARP Fraud Watch Network and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
- AARP’s The Perfect Scam podcast, which profiles America’s biggest scams each week, including those targeting Veterans, and AARP’s free Fraud Watch Helpline, at 877-908-3360.
For the latest news and information impacting older Veterans, bookmark the Veterans, Military and Their Families page on AARP.org.
The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA. Verify information with the organization offering.
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