TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — If you are a veteran, you’re probably used to special deals and offers on Veteran’s Day.
Veteran’s Day is also a time when crooks try to trick veterans and steal their money or private information.
Brain Oglesby of the Better Business Bureau said scammers typically contact veterans through phone calls, text messages, and direct messages on Facebook.
“They’re going to use that in their marketing approach, their techniques, the calls that they make, pretending to be a government agency that relates,” Oglesby said. “Again, a scammer’s end game, they don’t care who they’re speaking to, they’re going to pretend their someone to create a trust relationship and gather that personal information from their victim.”
They offer assistance with your mortgage or living expenses or a free product.
Some crooks said the veterans qualify for money from government programs, but they have to pay a fee or provide personal information to get details.
They say they can get a higher disability or pension payment for cash upfront. They may also try to charge veterans for access to their military records or government forms — something veterans can get for free at their local VA office.
“Some of the riskiest scams are online purchase scams. That’s actually the riskiest scam that they fall more victimized from, doing business online, making those purchases, coming across these fake websites, especially ones that identify to provide services for veterans and then also employment scams and job offers top the list,” Oglesby said.