Why Military Personnel Are Frequently Targeted for Fraud

Naval Reserve Officer Jeff Chin says he has been closely monitoring his credit report since 2015 and fighting off attempts to steal his identity. That year, he was involved in a major data breach at the Federal Office of Personnel Administration. Hackers stole millions of records. Among them were tens of thousands of records from security personnel like Chin who applied for his clearance.

“Obviously, I was concerned when I heard that all of that information was going out in cyberspace,” Chin said. “It wasn’t just a nuisance. It was all my information there, and it was really jarring.”

Chin’s security clearance data was compromised, and he has since been targeted by identity thieves trying to open credit cards and bank accounts in his name.

“It’s one of those things I’m always looking for in my email and monitoring services for pings that say, ‘Hey, this flag came up,'” says Chin and his family to ensure their data is safe. We are talking about efforts to make sure that .

Even his wife and daughter have faced identity theft problems, which Mr Chin blames for the leak of his Navy background check. The violation did not derail his military career.

“My security clearance no longer impacts my ability to move to another job and perform another mission,” Chin said. “Others weren’t so lucky.”

Military families and veterans are about 40% more likely than civilians to fall victim to scammers and cyber thieves, according to AARP, and 80% of attacks target military interests specifically.

Chin is currently Executive Director of the New England chapter of the Brew Star Family. The advocacy group has partnered with cybersecurity firm Her Aura to educate military personnel and their families about how the military lifestyle puts them at risk of fraud.

Aura founder Hari Ravichandran said the 2015 Human Resources Office hack was just one threat.

“Pockets that we see as particularly vulnerable are military personnel deployed abroad,” Ravichandran said. This is because they may not have easy access to monitor bank accounts and credit reports. Additionally, service members typically move every few years, creating opportunities for hackers to steal personal data.

Ravichandran said the threat extends beyond active duty forces.

“We spoke with many veterans and they were unaware that their identities had been stolen,” Ravichandran said. “They are going to move and they go to apply for a mortgage, but they can’t get a mortgage because a lot of their credit reports are messed up.”

He said veterans are attractive targets for criminals because they have access to many government benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, such as disability payments and loans for housing and education.

“The onus is on military families to clean it up, and that’s the problem with a lot of these types of thefts. Tell your banks and credit bureaus that it wasn’t you who actually experienced these negative events.” , which can take months in some cases,” said Ravichandran, adding that service members must proactively protect personal data through password managers and credit monitoring. I was.

Mr. Chin, a Naval Reserve officer with the Blue Star Families, said he and his family are accustomed to constantly monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity.

“Frankly, it added a layer of work — administrative work to sustain my military career,” says the Brewster family’s position, as well as a social welfare nonprofit in Massachusetts. “Being a reservist doing a full-time job as a civilian is already difficult enough, and a reservist is often more than just a part-time job.”

He said he was particularly concerned about a new scam targeting veterans exposed to burnt fields abroad and those affected by water pollution at Marine Corps Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Whenever veterans-related laws are passed – like the PACT Act to Expand Benefits for Armed Forces Exposed to Poisons – Chin receives a flood of fraudulent emails claiming to help access benefits. said.

“I can confidently say that everyone I meet in the military is subject to these kinds of demands,” Chin said. “Some of them are very obvious scams, but some of them have become very sophisticated.”

This article was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration covering life in the US military and veterans. Funding is provided by the Public Broadcasting Corporation.