Scam calls impersonating the VA office, general counsel

Oct 31, 2018 | Community News, Military/Veterans | 0 comments

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating a telephone scam involving an individual who impersonates someone from the veterans administration office or a general counsel attorney. The individual reportedly calls veterans and requests a social security number, private information, and may ask for money to process claims for benefits.


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Be aware that U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs already has your information and will not ask you for it.

During the scam call, veterans are given actual attorney names and phone numbers to call back. It is important to know that the VA — as a cabinet-level agency of the U.S. government, funded by Congress — will never request payment for carrying out the mission to serve veterans.

If you are contacted by a scammer —

  • Know that the VA will never call you and request money, even if you see “veterans affairs” on your caller identification.
  • Do not give out any personally identifiable information or other personal or sensitive data such as financial and banking information.
  • Hang up the phone immediately.
  • Report the incident to the Missouri Attorney General.
  • File a complaint using the Federal Trade Commission’s Complaint Assistant.

If you believe you are a victim of this scam and have provided personally identifiable information —

Request a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com and watch for any fraudulent charges or activity on your accounts. If you suspect fraud, visit identitytheft.gov to obtain a personalized recovery plan and other resources.

If you provided money to the scammer —

Report the incident to your state’s attorney general immediately and contact your financial institution.

For additional information on identity theft visit VA’s “More Than a Number” website for tips and resources on identifying and preventing identity theft and fraud.

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