SERVING
Those That
SERVED
Scams
Two New Scams Back With A Vengeance
November 16, 2018
Rental Property Scam
As more veterans move into rental properties across the Nation, more veterans are becoming victims of rental scams. The scammers are raking in millions of dollars by deceiving veterans into sending them large amounts of money. In this scam, the scammers post fake rental properties on classified ad websites, traditional newspapers, and in some cases by direct mail. To lure veterans in, the fake ad will often list massive veteran discounts. The scammer will ask for a large security deposit up front, and will direct the veteran to wire the money directly to the landlord to secure his/her rental. Naturally, once the transaction is complete veterans quickly realize they have been duped, and there is no rental property. Their money gone for good. This scam tends to be more effective in big cities as opposed to small towns.
Dealership Scam
Here is another very effective scam that millions of veterans have fallen prey to. Unfortunately, this scam is repeated over and over and veterans oftentimes have no idea they’ve been scammed. While many people are leery of dealership salespeople, not many people have the same concerns in the dealership service department.
Automobile dealerships aren’t making the kind of money they used to make by selling automobiles. Thanks to the Internet and the plethora of websites that teach customers how to buy and lease automobiles, today’s customers are very educated and savvy about the car buying process. Customers aren’t overpaying for cars and trucks as they did 10, 15, and 20 years ago. Dealerships now make most of their money from their service departments, and thousands of veterans are falling for service department scams daily, and over and over again. Recently implemented in hundreds of dealerships is a new scam service advisors have been trained to master. The one major scam in the service department veterans are up against is the “Your Battery Died” scam.
Unscrupulous service advisors will often inform veterans their car battery died during routine or scheduled maintenance, and that their car had to get a jump to complete the maintenance. At that point, the service advisor will go in for the knockout by directing the veteran to purchase a new battery from the dealership. Batteries that typically cost 50% to 75% more at the dealership. Remarkably, veterans are falling for this scam in record numbers.
Even with all of the websites on the Internet that warn customers not to pay for dealership applications and to never pay to have the dealership run your credit, unfortunately, many veterans are still falling for these scams every day.
Have you been scammed at an automobile dealership? If so, we want to hear from you. Please complete online survey and send to us immediately. The information you provide may help other veterans and dependents from being victims of dealership scams.
Download AARP Free Watchdog Alert Handbook
According to AARP, new research finds military veterans are victimized by scams twice as often as nonveterans. AARP is working in coordination with other organizations to jump start Operation Protect Veterans—a campaign to warn those who have served in the military about scams and fraud schemes that target veterans.
For starters, AARP has published a new watchdog handbook you can download free of charge.
How Veterans Can Protect Themselves Against Scams
What should veterans and their friends and family do when they are approached by one of these scam artists? The AARP and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) has set up a specific program to protect veterans. It is called Operation Protect Veterans. You should call 877-908-3360 or log on to AARP.org/fraudwatchnetwork to report the attempted scam.
Also, do not ever provide personal information in response to any email request from your bank, financial institution or Credit Card Company. Contact them first to verify that the request is legitimate. Never send money via a wire from your bank to pay for any service or product. You will never be able to recover those funds once they are wired. Always use a credit card or PayPal type account to make payments of any kind. You can always cancel those payments if you discover they are fraudulent. Do not use a debit card to make payments.
Medicare/Medicaid Scam Sweeping Nation
September 10, 2019
Multiple Government departments have issued a warning to all veterans about a new scam involving genetic tests. The scam involves using Medicare and Medicaid subscribers as its prey and the lure of what they’re calling a preemptive disease assessment as the bait.
Here’s how the scam is practiced: You’re at a local health fair and notice a booth where the scammer offers you a gift card or maybe a coupon for free ice cream. Of course, that gift card or ice cream comes with a prized attachment; a free health screening that includes the latest genetic testing technology.
The scammer will falsely promise that Medicare will pay for the test, and you simply need to provide a cheek swab, your ID, and Medicare information to receive your test results. Some scammers may even ask for your doctor’s name, implying that they will send your results to your doctor.
Here’s Where The Scammers Get You
At that point, the scam artist has your Medicare credentials, as well as personal health plan information which they might be able to monetize elsewhere. If Medicare declines the claim, you could be on the hook for the entire amount of the genetic test. That could range from $5,000 to as much as $10,000.
“What’s going on here is the same pattern of activity that has occurred throughout the health care system: a great majority of law-abiding actors and a few that seek out opportunities to game the system of Government reimbursement,” writes Bob Thomas.
Here’s How To Make Sure You Don’t Take The Bait
Of course, this, like most scams, is preventable. The Department of Health says there are three important precautions:
1. Genetic testing at the level the scammers are working on should only be requested by a physician that you have a doctor-patient relationship with and no one else.
2. If a genetic testing kit shows up in your mailbox, don’t open it unless your physician tells you to. If your physician says they didn’t request it, refuse the delivery or return it to the sender. When you send it back, make sure you keep a note of who sent it to you and the date you sent the kit back. The post office will usually offer a receipt that has some of that information, which will come in handy if you need to verify you returned the kit.
3. All Medicare beneficiaries should be wary of any person or company that asks you for your Medicare registration ID. If it’s someone other than your doctor, keep your Medicare info to yourself.
How To Protect Yourself Against Utility Scam
The BBB reports the scam’s finer points are easy for others to detect. These are the clues:
- Automated voicemails saying that your power will be shut off in 30-60 minutes. “Scammers will press for immediate payment and may try to intimidate you into giving them your personal and banking information,” the BBB warns.
- A call saying that a utility company crew is on the way to shut off the utilities. It’s the scammer’s way of adding some urgency. The BBB says consumers should never let anyone into their homes unless that person has 1.) Set up an appointment with you; or 2.) You called the utility company and reported a problem. You can also double-down on that by asking the so-called “utility employee” for some proper identification before you let them into your place.
- A request for Social Security numbers, bank routing numbers, bank account numbers, etc.
If, by chance, you think there’s a problem with your utility account, call your utility company before you do anything else. Most utility companies keep call logs detailing if they called you or not as well as if your payment is on time or delinquent.
