From: Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO <unionveterans@aflcio.org>
Date: Friday, November 22, 2013, 9:15 AM
The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a fraud alert about a marketing scam that is targeting veterans who misdial the VA National Call Center (800-827-1000) or the GI Bill Call Center (888-442-4551) phone numbers. A marketing company created two phone numbers that differ from the real VA numbers by one digit. If a veteran misdials and calls the bogus number, the answering party will offer a gift card and try to obtain sensitive personal data, to include credit card information. Please note that the VA will “never” ask for credit card or banking information over the phone.
The two bogus numbers are 800-872-1000 and 888-442-4511. Please forward this information to all your members, Posts and friends, and share it on your websites. The bottom line is make sure you know who you are talking to before providing personal information over the phone. The VA has notified law enforcement authorities.
For a list of toll-free VA phone numbers, go to the VA’s Inquiry Routing & Information System webpage at:
https://iris.custhelp.com/app/