Fraud and identity theft are plagues raging across our country like wildfires. Unfortunately, our veteran communities are not immune. The roughly 18 million Americans who served in the US Armed Forces[1] were the source of more than 110,000 fraud complaints, including 44,039 imposter scams that reportedly cost them over $103 million in 2021.[2] In addition, Military.com reports, “Veterans are more than twice as likely to have their identities stolen than American civilians.”[3]
The Department of
Veterans Affairs has undertaken a number of efforts to help veterans protect
their identity, determine if their identity has been stolen, and report fraud
and identity theft cases when they are victims. You can find more information
about their initiatives at www.va.gov/identitytheft.
If you suspect that
you may be the victim of fraud or identity theft, you can call the VA Veteran
Identity Theft Helpline at 1-855-578-5492. Their hours of operation are
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., ET.
TRICARE also provides
information on how to spot and report fraud and abuse: www.tricare.mil/ContactUs/ReportFraudAbuse.
I sincerely appreciate
everything the VA and TRICARE are doing to safeguard our veteran communities.
But regrettably, both networks regularly endanger those same veterans because
of unsafe practices. This must stop right away.
Note:
the examples I share are my personal experiences. They are not, however,
isolated incidents. These practices and problems are widespread in our Veterans
Health Administration and TRICARE networks.
“If you are ever contacted by phone or email, don’t share any personal information and report the incident to your contractor immediately.”
I received a call the
other day on my cellphone. The caller ID read TOLL-FREE NUMBER. In the past, I would
let a call like that go straight to voicemail. Spam calls appear as TOLL-FREE
NUMBER. Do you know who else calls with that ID? The VA hospital and TRICARE
network. Missing calls and playing voicemail ping-pong with the VA are painful
experiences. Since I have so many appointments with my providers, I am now in
the habit of picking up on those annoying spam callers.
This call was from
TriWest, the Western US provider of TRICARE health services. They needed to
talk to me about urgent medical information for Kevin Byrne.
My first response was
the obvious choice: “What kind of urgent medical information do you need to
review with Kevin Byrne?”
But before answering
my question, they needed to confirm some information. The contact asked me to
provide my full name, date of birth, and the last four of my Social Security Number.
I apologized, saying,
“I don’t give information to random callers from unknown toll-free numbers.” I
refused to provide any of my personal information, despite aggressive demands
from the caller that I do. Instead, I called a known TriWest contact number, where
I bounced along through several people until someone could pull up this
“urgent” information. They were trying to schedule a routine test, even though
I had already scheduled the appointment weeks prior. The call was unnecessary,
and it most certainly was not urgent.
My response was not what
every veteran would do, nor was it the reaction my TriWest caller expected. The
normal and expected response is to provide all requested personal information
in a less than confidential format.
We are grooming our veterans to hand over confidential personal
information for no other reason than because someone calls and says they are
official.
The FCC provides valuable
information on their webpage, “Consumer Tips to Stop Unwanted
Robocalls and Avoid Phone Scams.” Included on this list are recommendations
for responding to scammers that fit the profile of the call I received (I leave
it to readers to decide if they have had similar experiences in their regions).
- Don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
- You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a “local” number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
- Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with “Yes.”
- Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
- If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
- Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
Make No Mistake: scam callers will
target individuals by using fake credentials and pressuring statements such as,
for example, that they are calling from the VA or TriWest and need to talk to
you about urgent medical information.
Our trusted providers set
a dangerous expectation for our veterans on handling personal identifying
information. Some may resist the pressure, though, in the past, I admittedly
have shared information more freely than I should have. Others, especially our
most vulnerable, can be lured into dangerous habits. We are grooming our
veterans to be top targets for individualized scam calls.
Maybe your reaction
is, “I don’t have that problem. I just go straight to the VA for everything in-person.”
I used to think that way when I was a (relatively) healthy disabled veteran…
“The mission of VA Privacy Service is to preserve and protect the personally identifiable information (PII) of Veterans, their beneficiaries, and VA employees by promoting a culture of privacy awareness and maintaining the trust of those we serve.”
Over the last two and
half years, Covid-19 has led to many changes in our world. One noticeable
difference at my VA hospital is the large space between healthcare
administrative staff and veterans. That’s a good thing, as it keeps us a little
safer in this strange new world.
Sadly, here’s a
typical conversation for me, the staff member, and anyone else within 20 feet:
“Good Morning. I’m
checking in for my 9:30 appointment.”
“Last name.”
I give it.
“Last four.”
I give it.
“Can you confirm your
date of birth?”
I confirm it.
“Can you confirm your
address?”
I confirm it.
Suppose one person
sits in the waiting area of 20, 30, or more veterans. How much confidential
information can they collect because the VA is having us shout across barriers in
public? I will not try that experiment, and I don’t recommend anyone else take
matters into their own hands to see how much PII they can collect.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) notes the vulnerability of our veteran community increases due to “the older average age of veterans compared to the general population, as well as the increased risk for mental and physical health problems.”[iv] When we go to the VA, we might let our guard down. This might happen because:
- We are older and might not be familiar with the current dangers of identity theft and fraud.
- We are sick, so we might not have the energy or awareness to fight identity theft or fraud.
- We are used to following orders, especially within our organization structure and command.
I think the next time
I go to the hospital and face personally identifiable questions, my response
will be, “I would rather not shout it in the room. Can we go somewhere to
discuss this or any other confidential information?”
How is that going to
work? If it is going to be a problem, it already is a problem.
The Veterans
Administration and TRICARE must implement immediate corrective action to stop
putting our veterans at risk.
Kevin
Kevin J. Byrne
Captain, US Army
(Retired)
Kevin Byrne has been an advocate and a voice for veterans finding multiple sclerosis since his diagnosis in 1999 while serving as an Air Cavalry Troop Commander in Korea. You can learn more about his fight at https://NeverStopNeverQuit.com.
