CREATED Feb. 21, 2014
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The Better Business Bureau is warning military members and their families about a new internet scam.
The “My Army Benefits” website at usmilitarybenifit.org is a fraudulent site designed to “collect soldiers’ Army Knowledge Online, email accounts and passwords,” according to investigators.
The site also falsely claims that “the U.S. military has granted access to unclaimed and accumulated benefits for active duty soldiers, and that benefits not claimed within the stipulated period will be available for claims after 60 months,” according to investigators.
The website is not affiliated or endorsed by the U.S. Army.
“Official military websites will all have the .mil domain name,” notes BBB Military Line director Brenda Linnington. “Any other domain extension should be a red flag.”
Other red flags include unsolicited emails or text messages; spelling, punctuation and grammar errors; requests for private information such as email addresses or passwords.
Fraudulent websites come and go quickly (and it appears this one may have been taken down already), but others pop up in their place. Service personnel, family members and veterans need to be especially alert to scams that target them.
If you have received correspondence from the My Army benefits website or provided information through it:
· Do not log in to the website;
· Do not respond to any emails;
· Stop all contact if you have previously responded to any emails; and
· Immediately contact your local information assurance office if you accessed the website from a government computer or system.