On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. ET, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, will hold a hybrid hearing to examine why fraudsters and scammers disproportionately target servicemembers and veterans compared to their civilian counterparts, and whether additional actions are needed to protect the military community from exploitation.
According to a recent AARP survey, servicemembers, veterans, and their families are nearly 40% more likely to lose money to scams and fraud than the civilian population, and four out of five servicemembers and veterans report they have been targeted by scams directly related to their military service or benefits. In total, servicemembers and veterans reported financial losses of $267 million resulting from scams or fraud in 2021.
Scammers often take advantage of younger servicemembers’ relative financial inexperience and may seek to exploit the military’s shared sense of duty and patriotism by tricking victims into making contributions to fraudulent military charities or veterans organizations. Despite public and non-government efforts to educate servicemembers and veterans about these risks, the number of scams targeting the military community continues to grow.
| WHAT:
| Subcommittee on National Security hearing entitled “Protecting Military Servicemembers and Veterans from Financial Scams and Fraud.”
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| WHEN: | Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. ET
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| WHO:
| Malini Mithal
Associate Director, Division of Financial Practices Bureau of Consumer Protection Federal Trade Commission Jim Rice Assistant Director, Office of Servicemember Affairs Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Troy Broussard Senior Advisor, Veterans and Military Families Initiative AARP Robert Burda Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Strategy Officer Cybercrime Support Network
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| WATCH: | A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website. |
Original source can be found here.
