Veterans and active-duty U.S. service members have had their bank accounts drained for a combined $379.6 million due to a variety of financial scams since 2015.
According to an Atlas VPN study released on Wednesday, the scams involve everything from phony sweepstakes to fraudulent government impersonators.
The monetary losses incurred by veterans and military retirees due to financial scams make up 57%, or $217.2 million, of total losses, according to the report.
National Archives inspectors in pursuit of stolen valor
Military consumers also filed more than 680,000 complaints with the Federal Trade Commission due to identity theft, fraud and other related matters.
“Veterans and retirees sent out 417,560 complaints,” the study reads. “In other words, 61% of complaints in the last 5 years have been sent by veterans and military retirees.”
Data from the FTC is shared with law enforcement nationwide and is often the starting point for opening criminal investigations.
Iraq war vet Brian Kolfage arrested for fraud in build the wall scam
The report also noted that prizes, sweepstakes and lottery scams “lured most money out of military personnel, with $51.9 million in damages."
A total of 10,822 people reported being a victim of lottery or similar scams, the report found.
“Over 22.4% of people who reported scams did lose money. The median loss stands at $2,800,” it stated. “The second in line in terms of losses are government impostor scams."
Monetary damages to military personnel amount to $46.5 million. Government impersonation scams are reported the most often with 112,987 reports since 2015.
The average loss incurred is $1,000, the report said.