New Scam Targets Military Spouses

National Guard, Jun 2007

The American Red Cross is warning military spouses about a new identity-theft scam that targets family members of deployed troops.

The Red Cross was alerted of the scam early last month, said Devorah Goldburg of the Red Cross.

The scam involves a person calling a military spouse, identifying herself as a Red Cross representative and tells the spouse that her husband was hurt in Iraq and 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.

Ms. Goldburg said the Red Cross does not know how many spouses have been targeted, but she said one confirmed report was enough for the Red Cross to act.

The Red Cross urges military family members not to give out any personal information over the phone if contacted by unknown individuals.

Red Cross representatives contact military members or dependents directly only in response to an emergency message initiated by a family member, according to a Red Cross news release.

In addition, the Red Cross doesn't report any type of casualty information to family members; the Defense Department will contact families directly about family members' injuries.

Guard and Red Cross officials urge any military family members to report suspicious calls to military authorities.