VA Announces New Website and Call Center to Protect Veterans From Fraud

A multiagency federal effort aims for a ‘one-stop shop’ to help military families targeted by scams

Christina Ianzito,

AARP

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En español

Published August 13, 2024

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Scams are rampant these days, and members of the veteran community are favorite targets of scammers; veterans, military personnel and their spouses reported $477 million in losses from scams last year — up $63 million in 2022 — according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In response, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the White House have announced the launch of VSAFE.gov and 833-38V-SAFE (833-388-7233). The new website and call center is meant to coordinate efforts across the federal government to protect veterans, service members and their families from fraud and scams.

“At the end of the day, we want to better arm [veterans], so to speak, and their families with better ways to identify these fraudulent behaviors so they can protect themselves,” says John Boerstler, chief veterans experience officer at the VA. And the goal is to keep it simple, with “one single digital front door at VSAFE.gov and then one single telephonic front door,” through the call center.

The website includes resources on identity theft and the most common scams targeting veterans, including romance scams and other impostor scams, fake job offers and bogus investment schemes.

The call center, meanwhile, offers a simplified way for reporting different scams. In the past it has been confusing for scam victims to know where to report fraud. “Depending on the kind of issue facing the caller, callers will be routed to the correct federal agency to address their specific concerns,” according to the announcement.

And if victims do call an individual agency rather than the central call center, all agencies will have “common call center training materials” so the caller is sent to the correct place for assistance.

The effort, led by the White House VSAFE (veterans, service members and families fraud evasion) interagency policy council, includes the departments of Defense, Education and State, the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget.

Each has reason to be concerned about fraud: The Department of Education, for instance, has battled predatory for-profit colleges that target veterans and service members, while the FCC is forever fighting robocallers, who push “misleading ‘debt relief’ robocalls,” among other frauds, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted in the announcement.

“This is a positive step,” says Juanita Jiménez-Soto, AARP national veterans and military families manager, noting how crucial it is for veterans to understand the red flags for fraud. “It’s important for [the government] to step up and educate our veterans,” she adds. “They protected us. We should be protecting them.”

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Veterans targeted

Veterans tend to lose more money to scams than their civilian counterparts. Last year veterans lost a median of $599 to scams, 20 percent more than the $500 median loss reported by civilians, according to the 2023 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. But many lose far more.

Investment scams led to the highest median amount of money lost by military members ($7,000) out of the 10 most commonly reported types of fraud.

Other common scams aimed at veterans:

Impostor scams. This is the most common kind of scam, encompassing romance scams, and scammers pretending to be from the IRS, FTC, FBI, companies like Amazon or Apple, and many more. “They’re even pretending to be the VA in many cases, saying, ‘Hey, we’ll help you file your claim,’ or ‘Hey, we’ll help you with your health care,” Boerstler says. “They are just preying on these families in their most dire times.”
Pension poaching. A scammer will offer a benefit buyout, convincing the veteran to turn over VA pension and/or disability benefits for a supposed lump-sum payment that never materializes. (Listen to this episode of AARP’s The Perfect Scam, about a veteran who was targeted in a military benefits scam.)
Fraudulent records scam. Veterans are told they need to pay for updated personal military records. You never need to pay for this service.
Fake veteran charities. Scammers capitalize on donors’ goodwill to line their pockets.

AARP’s Fraud Watch Network offers some tips for how to avoid these scams:

Veterans never have to pay for their earned benefits or service records — if told otherwise, it’s a scam.
Veterans who receive a call or see an advertisement from an alleged law firm offering assistance with benefits claims should not assume that it is a trustworthy organization.
Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry and use a call-blocking service.
Never sign a blank form or agreement with an attorney or company without fully understanding what it is.

AARP’s fraud prevention resources and support

To learn about the latest scams and how to avoid them, visit the AARP Veterans Fraud Center at www.aarp.org/lp/vets-fraud-center. To learn how to apply for PACT Act benefits, visit aarp.org/vetshealthnavigator.

For support and guidance, the trained fraud specialists at the free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360, can share information on what to do next and how to avoid scams. The AARP Fraud Watch Network also offers online group support sessions.

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Christina Ianzito covers scams and fraud, and is the books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine. Also a longtime travel writer and editor, she received a 2020 Lowell Thomas Award for travel writing from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.