Partnership aims to stop con artists, reduce the high rates of veterans falling victim to scams
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 8, 2018) – More than 200 Veterans of Foreign Wars and Attorney General Andy Beshear are joining forces to stop scammers who specifically target Kentucky veterans and their families.
As part of the Department of Kentucky Veterans of Foreign Wars annual state conference, held in Louisville today, Beshear spoke with veterans about his office’s Mission Veterans Protected (MVP) program, which aims to help reverse the high rate of veterans being targeted and falling victim to con artist.
Beshear said MVP is the state’s first anti-scam initiative that provides preventative resources to help Kentucky veterans, active-duty service members, reservists and military families combat the findings in a recent AARP study that determined more veterans are targeted by con artists and fall victim to fraud when compared to nonveterans.
“It is disgraceful that nearly 80 percent of veterans have recently faced a scam attempt and that veterans are twice as likely to lose money to scams compared to nonveterans,” said Beshear. “I applaud the Department of Kentucky Veterans of Foreign Wars for joining forces with my office and AARP Kentucky to help stop scammers who seek out and target those who have sacrificed so much for our county.”
The Department of Kentucky Veterans of Foreign Wars is a nonprofit veterans’ service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, guard and reserve. Fostering camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts and serving and advocating for all veterans is part of the organization’s core mission.
Department of Kentucky Veterans of Foreign Wars State Commander Karle E. Johnson, attended today’s conference and said the department thanks Attorney General Andy Beshear for allowing them to partner with the Office of the Attorney General and AARP Kentucky on the Mission Veterans Protected and for speaking at the convention.
“Veterans are twice as likely to be scammed as the general populace and his staunch support of Kentucky’s service members, veterans and their families will help to end this trend,” said Johnson. “We also encourage all service members, veterans and their family to sign up for the Scam Alerts with the Office of the Attorney General.”
In January, Beshear collaborated with AARP Kentucky to expand his Scam Alerts program to include Mission Veterans Protected. A coalition of more than 30 partners are working with Beshear and AARP Kentucky to conduct a more than 25-stop statewide outreach campaign to talk directly to veterans and military families about scam prevention.
“Every 2 seconds, someone’s identity gets stolen and veterans are being targeted daily,” said Scott Wegenast, advocacy and outreach director for AARP Kentucky. “That’s why AARP launched operation protect veterans – to arm veterans and their families with the tools they need to spot and avoid scams. We value Attorney General Beshear’s leadership and team effort to help protect Kentucky’s heroes from scammers.”
When veterans and military families need immediate assistance in identifying and avoiding scams they can visit the MVP website. The site provides critical information on how to identify the 10 most common veteran-specific scams; tips on how to avoid falling victim to scammers; who to call for help; a list of upcoming community events and a printable awareness poster.
“Mission Veterans Protected” is the latest step Beshear has taken to both stop con artists and help protect veterans.
Most recently, Beshear announced his office assisted in shuttering the doors of a charity, VietNow National Headquarters Inc., that misled thousands of donors by claiming contributions supported local veterans.
Beshear has warned Kentucky veterans of a sham veterans charity dubbed, “Coalition for Veterans of America” and other common scams that trend around military related holidays. The office assists veterans and their families by helping them recover from scams.
Last year, Beshear notified impacted Kentucky veterans that they are eligible for federal debt relief after being victimized by the Corinthian Colleges Inc.
Beshear recommends all Kentuckians stay ahead of scammers by signing up for his office’s Scam Alerts. To enroll text the words KYOAG Scam to GOV311 (468311) or online at ag.ky.gov/scams and select text message or email alert.
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