Fraudsters prey on US veterans' lack of PACT Act benefit claims knowledge

Most U.S. military veterans are unaware that they can get help to claim a new benefit, but fraudsters know only too well and are taking advantage of the knowledge gap.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says that the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or the PACT Act, is "perhaps the largest health care and benefit expansion in VA history" and expands the list of presumptive conditions for which veterans can claim without having to prove their disability resulted from their military service.

Free assistance is available for claims, but two-thirds of veterans surveyed by AARP said they were not aware of this, leaving them open to criminals who are targeting potential claimants offering help with the process and promising lucrative benefits, a telltale sign of a scam.

“Our nation’s veterans should not have to worry about being exploited by financial predators,” said Troy Broussard, senior advisor for the AARP Veterans and Military Families Initiative and U.S. Army Desert Storm veteran. “Scammers have a playbook to get us into a heightened emotional state that gets in the way of our ability to think logically. Knowing about these specific scams makes it far less likely that anyone will engage with them.”

Around 5 million veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War and Post-9/11 eras, and their survivors, exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances, are eligible to make a PACT Act claim.

The AARP poll found that scammers target veterans due to an assumption of steady income and benefits, frequent moves and deployments, and tight-knit culture that criminals can exploit to gain unwarranted trust.

SPOTTING FRAUDS

Previous research from the nonprofit organization found that veterans/military adults are 40% more likely to lose money to scams and fraud than the civilian population.

Advisors can help their clients recognize veteran-specific frauds using tips from the AARP Fraud Watch Network:

• 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 helping with benefits claims should not assume that it is a trustworthy organization.
• Veterans and their families should sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry and use a call-blocking service.
• Veterans should never sign a blank form or agreement with an attorney or company without fully understanding what it is.