Veterans Affairs (VA) officials have initiated a campaign to warn veterans about scams related to their disability benefits. This move comes in response to concerns that the surge in assistance over the past year may attract scammers targeting vulnerable veterans. The VA’s efforts include a new online resource, www.va.gov/vsafe, to educate veterans on scam detection, reporting, and accessing free benefits assistance.
  

Key Points: 

1. The VA has launched www.va.gov/vsafe to help veterans identify scams, report suspicious activities, and obtain free benefits assistance.
2. VA Secretary Denis McDonough emphasizes the importance of ensuring all VA teams communicate the anti-scam information to veterans clearly and frequently.
3. In the current fiscal year, the VA has looked into approximately 12,500 possible benefits fraud cases, assisting 1,164 victims of these scams.
4. Many scammers are illegally charging veterans to file their initial claims, sometimes demanding up to six times the veterans’ benefits payouts.
5. The VA has seen a record number of nearly 2.3 million disability claims filed in fiscal 2023.

Source: https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2023/09/25/va-officials-sound-alarm-on-uptick-in-veterans-benefits-scams/