DETROIT – Memorial Day is a time to honor American heroes. Unfortunately, it's also a time for scam artists to prey on veterans and their families.
The Better Business Bureau Serving Detroit and Eastern Michigan says the holiday can be a time when scammers use a military-themed approach to try to steal personal information and money.
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Scams to watch out for:
*Posing as the Veterans Administration and contacting veterans to say they need to update their credit card, bank or other financial records with the VA.
*Charging service members for services they could get for free or less expensively elsewhere, such as military records,
* Fraudulent investment schemes that convince veterans to transfer their assets into an irrevocable trust.
* Offering "instant approval" military loans ("no credit check," "all ranks approved") that can have high interest rates and hidden fees.
* Advertising housing online with military discounts and incentives, and then bilking service personnel out of the security deposit.
* Trying to sell things like security systems to spouses of deployed military personnel by saying the service member ordered it to protect his or her family.
* Selling stolen vehicles at low prices by claiming to be soldiers who need to sell fast because they've been deployed;
* Posing as government contractors recruiting veterans and then asking for a copy of the job applicants' passport (which contains a lot of personal information)
* Posing on online dating services as a lonely service member in a remote part of Iraq or Afghanistan, and then asking for money to be wired to a third party for some emergency.
BBB advises service members, veterans and all consumers never to give personal identification information (Social Security, bank account, military identification or credit card numbers, etc.) to anyone who contacts you by phone or e-mail, and to be wary of any solicitations that involve purchasing something or transferring money. Consumers can check out businesses and charities for free at www.bbb.org.
For more information, visit www.bbb.org/us/military-line.