Category Archives for Veterans

AARP Report: Scammers targeting military community

Published on November 15, 2021 in RINewsToday

Just two days before the nation celebrated Veterans Day, the Washington, DC-based AARP issued a report revealing that veterans, active-duty service members, and their families are nearly 40% more likely to lose money to con-artists than the civilian population. According to the new research study, detailed in a 26-page report, 4 out of 5 military/veteran adults were targeted by scams directly related to their military service or the benefits they receive.

Fraud cost veterans, service members and their families more than $338 million in the five years ending in 2019, notes AARP citing Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  data. The median loss for military scam victims in 2019, $894, was nearly triple that for the population at large.

“Our research shows scammers are taking aim at the veteran and military community at alarming rates, emphasizing the importance of staying up-to-date on the latest scams and how to avoid them,” said Troy Broussard, Senior Advisor, AARP Veterans and Military Families Initiative. In a Nov. 9 statement announcing the survey’s findings.“ Knowing the red flags can not only help veterans, military and their families avoid losing money, but also avoid the emotional toll from scams,” he said.

AARP’s report, “Scambush: Military Battle Surprise Attacks from Scams & Fraud,” prepared by Jennifer Sauer, AARP Research and Pete Jeffries, AARP Veterans and Military Family Initiative, noted that scammers will use military jargon and specific government guidelines to craft an effective scam pitch to steal money from military members and veterans. One in three military/veteran adults reported losing money to these types of service-related scams.

Many military/veterans survey respondents fell for the Benefit Buyout scam by turning over U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs pension and/or disability benefits for a supposed lump-sum payment that never materializes (47%). Thirty-two percent admitted they were scammed out of money by paying for updated personal medical records, a service provided for free (Fraudulent records scam). Finally, 32% reported that they donated to fake veteran charities.

According to the AARP report, military/veteran adults also reported losing more money than civilians on the grandparent-impostor scam (more than twice as often) and financial phishing schemes (nearly twice as often). Nearly half of military/veteran adults said they are not using a robocall blocking service and over 1 in 4 have not registered their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. Finally, 81% of military/veteran adults have not placed a security freeze on their credit report.

Fight Back Against Scams

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides helpful tips here: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/veterans.html?intcmp=AE-FWN-LIB4-POS16 to protect yourself against con artists who call you about your government and service benefits.

Unsolicited calls offering you an increase in your military benefits or access to little-know government programs are likely scams.

Never pay for copies of your military records. These documents are free.

You can confirm if a VA phone call is legitimate by calling the agency directly at 1-800-MYVA411.

Hang up if you receive an unsolicited call from a VA representative asks you for personal information like your Social Security number. Personal data is NEVER requested by either phone or email.

Be cautious on returning calls displayed on your caller ID. Scammers can use technology to change the telephone number, called ID spoofing, to make a call appear it came from a different person or place, or even from someone you know.

VA does not threaten claimants with jail or lawsuits.  If the caller does this, it’s a scam.

When you have a benefits issue, contact a VA-accredited representative. The VA maintains a searchable database of attorneys, claims agents and veterans service organizations.

Take Advantage of These Resources…

AARP’s Fraud Watch Network recommends also recommends the signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry and using a call-blocking service. Additional measures include: using strong and unique passwords for each online account; using two-factor authentication when available; and placing a free security freeze on credit reports at each of the three major credit bureaus. Remember, veterans never have to pay for their service records or earned benefits—if told otherwise, it’s a scam.
 
Operation Protect Veterans—a joint program of the AARP Fraud Watch Network and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service—helps veterans, service members and their families to protect against fraud. The Fraud Watch Network also offers biweekly fraud alerts and a free Helpline (877-908-3360) through which veterans, military and the public can report suspected scams. The AARP Watchdog Alert Handbook: Veterans’ Edition explains 10 ways that con artists target veterans.

AARP’s survey was administered in August 2021 to a total of 1,660 people: 851 active or former U.S. military respondents and 809 non-military (civilian) adults ages 18 and older using NORC’s AmeriSpeak Internet Panel. The margin of error is 4.40% at the 90% confidence level.

To get a copy of  “Scambush: Military Battle Surprise Attacks from Scams & Fraud,” go to https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statisti.cs/econ/2021/fraud-scams-military-veterans-report.doi.10.26419-2Fres.00502.001.pdf

For more information and resources for veterans on the latest fraud and scams, visit aarp.org/veterans. 

Analysis Says That Aging Veterans at Greater Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Published in Wonsocket Call on October 2, 2017

On Monday, October 2, at a press conference USAgainstAlzheimer’s, (UsA2), along with veterans groups, plan to release an issue brief, “Veterans and Alzheimer’s Meeting the Crisis Head on,” with data indicating that many older veterans will face a unique risk factor for Alzheimer’s as a direct result of their military service.

Following the release of this issue brief, on TuesdPbulisheday evening at a reception in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, UsA2, a Washington, DC-based Alzheimer’s advocacy group whose mission is to stop Alzheimer’s disease by 2020, will launch VeteransAgainstAlzheimer’s (VA2), a national network of veterans and their families, military leaders, veterans groups, researchers, and clinicians, to focus on raising awareness of the impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementias on active and retired military service members.

Dramatic Increase in Veterans with Alzheimer’s

Forty nine percent of those aging veterans age 65 ((WW2, Korea, Vietnam and even younger veterans, from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts in the coming decades), are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s compared to 15 percent of nonveterans over age 65, note the authors of the issue brief. “There is a clear and compelling obligation for greater support to meet the needs of veterans with Alzheimer, they say.

The issue brief pulls together research study findings released by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA). On study estimates that more than 750,000 older veterans have Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, another noting that the number of enrollee with Alzheimer’s grew 166 percent from roughly 145,000 in 2004 to 385,000 in 2014.

The “Minority communities are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s and minority veterans are predicted to increase from 23.2 percent of the total veteran population in 2017 to 32.8 percent in 2037, says a VA study.

The issue brief also cites study findings that indicate that older veterans who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are 60 percent are more likely to develop dementia, Twenty-two percent of all combat wounds in Afghanistan and Iraq were brain injuries, nearly double the rate seen during Vietnam – increasing these younger veterans’ lifetime Alzheimer’s risk.

Veterans also face a multitude of barriers to effective Alzheimer’s diagnosis and care, including a complex Veteran’s Administration health system, a lack of understanding about available benefits, and a stigma related to brain and mental health, say issue brief authors.

George Vradenburg, UsA2’s Chairman and Co-Founder, sums up the message to Congress and federal and state policy makers in the released issue brief: “We need to understand so much more about why brain injuries sustained in battle put veterans at greater risk for Alzheimer’s. We must encourage veterans to participate in clinical studies to learn about the long-term effects of brain injuries, so we can do everything in our power to mitigate the impact on those who have given so much to this country.”

A Call for Funding…

When former Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts released Rhode’s Alzheimer’s plan in 2013, to guide and coordinate the state’s efforts to care for those with debilitating Alzheimer’s and those who care for them, she called the report a ”living document, ” to be continuing updated as needed. With the 5-year update of the State’s plan being due June 2019, to be submitted to the Rhode Island General Assembly, Lt. Gov. Dan McKee and the Executive Board of the Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders working group, roll up their sleeves to meet that legislative deadline.

McKee and his Alzheimer’s plan working group are now turning to philanthropic organizations, like the Rhode Island Foundation, to fund their efforts to update the State’s Alzheimer’s plan. Yes, it costs money to do this and with the incidence of Alzheimer’s increasing in the Ocean State, lawmakers and state policy makers need an updated plan to provided them with a road map to effectively utilize state resources and dollars to provide care for those afflicted with debilitating cognitive disorder.

In 2013, 24,000 Rhode Islanders were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders and this number will continue to grow each year. With the state being so small, every Rhode Islander is personally touched, either caring for a family member with the cognitive disorder or knowing someone who is a caregiver or patient.

Funding from the Rhode Island General Assembly and philanthropic organizations are needed to get the ball rolling on the state Alzheimer’s plan. When updating, don’t forget the needs of Rhode Island’s aging veterans.

Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has worked to secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 and to assist in securing nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer’s research over the past few years. The nonprofit’s global efforts has influenced the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, the G7, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration to combat Alzheimer’s . Finally, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s works to forge pharmaceutical industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process. For more information click here.

For details on the updating of Rhode Island’s Alzheimer’s Plan, call the office of Lt. Gov. Dan McKee at (401) 222-2371.

Honoring the Fallen: Author salutes Pawtucket residents who died in Vietnam War

Published in Senior Digest, May 2016

For over 30 years, Terry Nau served as sports editor of the Pawtucket Times. When Nau retired in 2012, the seasoned newspaperman did not miss the daily grind of working full-time but soon learned that he missed writing. With free time on his hands, Nau began to write about a part of his life that he had buried for 40 years – his stint in Vietnam as an artilleryman in 1967-68. In his first four years of retirement, the former sports writer would self-publish three books about the Vietnam War.

In 2013, the retiree produced his first book, which dealt with being drafted out of college in 1966 and finding himself in Vietnam by September 1967 for a one-year tour with A Battery, 2/32 Field Artillery. This book, “Reluctant Soldier … Proud Veteran,” focused on his personal journey towards understanding the role Vietnam played in his life.

A Vietnam Veteran Remembers

For his second book, Nau, a Pennsylvania native, decided to write about the 15 students from his high school who died in Vietnam.

“In 2014, my high school’s 50th reunion committee asked me to try and calculate the number of Vietnam veterans in my Class of 1965,” he said, “and from that project came my second book, ‘We Walked Right Into It: Pennsbury High and the Vietnam War.’ ”

A Pawtucket resident since 1982, Nau said, “It was only natural that I would follow up with a book on Pawtucket and its 21 Vietnam War casualties.” His latest book evolved into an oral history, told mostly through the words of surviving family members, friends and fellow soldiers.

“The courage these families showed became the underlying theme of ‘They Heard the Bugle’s Call: Pawtucket and the Vietnam War,’ Nau stated. “It was hard for them to talk about their fallen soldier but after a while, it seemed like they warmed to the idea of remembering these soldiers nearly 50 years after they died,” he said.

Celebrating the 50th

Nau’s latest book has triggered a movement to honor Pawtucket’s “21 Heroes.”

“Pawtucket must remember these courageous soldiers, beginning with its first casualty, Marine Corps Lance Corporal Antonio Maciminio, Jr., who died on May 21, 1966, Nau said, noting that the 20-year-old infantry soldier left a pregnant wife who gave birth to their daughter Vicky in October 1966. Two other soldiers from Pawtucket – Jack Hulme and Michael Dalton – would also die before they ever saw their sons,” Nau noted.

On Saturday, May 21, from noon-2p.m. at the Pavilion in Slater Memorial Park, the City of Pawtucket will honor its 21 Vietnam War casualties. Antonio J. Pires, Director of Administration for Mayor Donald Grebien, will speak on behalf of the city. A reading of the City Council resolution that declares May 21 as “21 Heroes Day” in Pawtucket will follow.

According to Nau, at least 13 of the 21 families will participate in a Roll Call ceremony that will highlight this event. Each soldier’s name will be called out, in the order they fell, beginning with Lance Corporal Maciminio and continuing through Army 1st Lieutenant Michael Dalton, who was the last city resident to die in the war, on June 9, 1971.

The city also plans to honor its surviving Vietnam War veterans with a “Welcome Home” salute from the audience. That will be the final note in an emotional ceremony.

“Vietnam veterans often came home by themselves from the war zone,” Nau said. “The welcome they received came from their parents, families and friends. And that was all they wanted. Over the years, our military leaders realized what a mistake it had been to send soldiers home alone, instead of in units. To have the City of Pawtucket honor our Vietnam veterans in the 50th anniversary of the war means a lot of these graying veterans.”

The May 21 ceremony will begin at noon with 30 minutes of socializing. The ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. and should conclude by 1:30 p.m., followed by another 30 minutes of socializing.

“Three of the soldiers’ widows will attend, arriving from Florida, California and New Jersey,” Nau said. “Cathy (Maciminio) Dumont is bringing her daughter Vicky, who turns 50 in October. Vicky will speak her father’s name in our Roll Call of heroes. Debbie Dalton and Ellen Hulme will also participate in the Roll Call.”

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For more information on this May 21 Slater Memorial event, email Nau at tnau3@cox.net or check out the Facebook page, “Pawtucket’s Vietnam War Heroes.”

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