Dear Veterans and Stakeholders, The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continue to team up to combat illegal robocalls targeting Americans, including Veterans and their families. Each year, the FCC receives more than 200,000 complaints about unwanted calls. While this may seem like a big number, it pales in comparison to the millions of robocalls being made each day. The calls interrupt dinners and family time; they flood landline and mobile phones. Scam calls frequently solicit money for fake charities, including ones claiming to support America’s Veterans - some even claiming to be VA representatives. We know that scam activity increases during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, so the FCC and VA urge you to be vigilant. We offer the following tips to help you avoid unwanted calls and scams. Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. Scammers may spoof their caller ID to display a fake number that appears to be local. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.

Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, or passwords in response to unexpected or suspicious calls.

Be sure to set a password for all voice mail accounts to avoid being hacked.

Register your number on the Do Not Call List to block calls from legitimate telemarketers.

Ask your phone company about call-blocking tools and services for your landline phone, and check for helpful apps that you can download to your mobile phone. Please help spread the word about robocall fraud among those who may need assistance particularly those who are frequently targeted by phone scams. For more information, visit: fcc.gov/robocalls. Sincerely

Veterans Benefits Administration