What you are about to read is one of the most despicable scams yet.
Some real scumbags are targeting the wives (and husbands) of forward-deployed members of the U.S. military who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is bad enough that our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives are being killed in an insane war overseas - now there are human beings who are so slimy, low and disgusting that they are preying on terribly worried wives by calling them to tell them their husbands have been seriously injured in Iraq. Then they try to scam money from the distraught wives.
I have not heard of any scams being perpetrated around the SF Bay Area, but I want to do my best to get the word out to as many people as possible.
According to Devorah Goldburg of the American Red Cross, the scam involves a person with an American-sounding voice calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a representative of the Red Cross, and telling the spouse that her husband was hurt in Iraq and was medically evacuated to Germany. The caller then says that doctors can't start treatment until paperwork is completed, and that to start the paperwork they need the spouse to verify her husband's social security number and date of birth.
It is hard to determine how many spouses have been targeted by this scam, Ms. Goldburg said, as there are many ways for spouses to report problems like this. However, one confirmed report was enough for the Red Cross to act, she said.
"We know that it happened to one person; it was probably going to happen to others, and we wanted to be prudent and alert people," she said.
American Red Cross representatives typically do not contact military members or dependents directly and almost always go through a commander or first sergeant, according to a Red Cross news release. Military family members are urged not to give out any personal information over the phone if contacted by unknown individuals, including confirmation that their spouse is deployed.
In addition, Red Cross representatives contact military members or dependents directly only in response to an emergency message initiated by a family member, the news release said. The Red Cross does not report any type of casualty information to family members; the Defense Department will contact families directly about family members' injuries.
It is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison,
for a person to fraudulently pretend to be a member of,
or an agent for,
the American Red Cross
for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material,
according to the news release.
Any military family member who receives such a call is urged to report it
to his or her local family readiness group
or to the FBI.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
San Francisco Headquarters
Call: 415.553.7400 (24-hours every day)
for a person to fraudulently pretend to be a member of,
or an agent for,
the American Red Cross
for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material,
according to the news release.
Any military family member who receives such a call is urged to report it
to his or her local family readiness group
or to the FBI.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
San Francisco Headquarters
Call: 415.553.7400 (24-hours every day)
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