During the past four years, the FTC logged more than 378,000 reports from veterans — and nearly 161,000 were fraud-related. More than 24,000 of those reported a loss (with total losses of $205 million). Veterans had a median loss of $755, compared to active duty servicemembers who reported a median loss of $500 over the same period.
For both veterans and active duty personnel, imposter scams were among the top five scams causing a loss. Imposters pretend to be someone you trust to try to convince you to send them money. These scammers use all kinds of angles to make their stories sound believable. Here are some tips (and a few videos) that talk about how to spot an imposter scam.