Scammers targeting military families again

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Scammers targeting military families again




By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 30, 2007 18:06:46 EDT

The American Red Cross has warned military families to beware of a scam in which callers tell family members their service member has been injured in Iraq, with the apparent goal of getting the service member’s Social Security number and date of birth.
Several people have reported to different groups that they have received such phone calls, said American Red Cross spokeswoman Devorah Goldburg. She said National Guard Bureau family program officials felt strongly enough about their concerns to put out a notice to the field shortly before Memorial Day weekend.
Red Cross officials said that in one case described to them, a young-sounding woman with an American accent called a military spouse and identified herself as a representative of the American Red Cross. She told the spouse her husband has been hurt while on duty in Iraq, and was medically evacuated to a hospital in Germany.
The caller told the spouse they couldn’t start treatment until paperwork was completed. In order to start the paperwork, she claimed, they wanted the spouse to verify her husband’s Social Security number and date of birth. This spouse caught on quickly and did not provide the information —which can be used to steal a person’s identity. Among other things, thieves can set up credit card accounts and run up high bills without the family’s knowledge.
“We take this very seriously,” Goldburg said. She has notified regional Red Cross officials so that they could get the word out to the 769 Red Cross chapters nationwide. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison, for a person to pretend to be a representative of the Red Cross for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material.
On top of that, the Stop Terrorist and Military Hoaxes Act of 2004 makes it a criminal offense to convey false or misleading information about the status of a service member during a time of armed conflict. Fines can be imposed, and violators face up to five years in prison. If a serious injury occurs as the result of a hoax, possible jail time is 20 years; if a death happens because of the hoax, the violator could face a life sentence.
The Red Cross does not report any type of casualty information to family members; the military services contact family members directly. In the case of injury, the service member generally calls the family directly. If the service member is unable to do that, a call will come from military casualty officials or from the hospital where the service member is being treated.
Family members who receive a suspicious call should ask for the name and telephone number of the caller for verification. They should call their family readiness group or military personnel flight, Red Cross officials said.



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