10/10/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2024 07:51
On World Homeless Day, it is important to acknowledge the critical housing challenges Veterans face coupled with the growing issue of rental listing scams. Veterans experiencing homelessness are an especially at-risk subset of the Veteran population for this scam. Homelessness can affect Veterans due to housing shortages, rising living costs, mental health effects from service (e.g., post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, etc.), and a lack of support networks. Unfortunately, scammers often exploit these factors to target homeless Veterans for financial gain and/or to gain access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
People often utilize online platforms-such as social media groups-to find places for suitable housing. However, scammers target those searching for housing by posing as landlords and sharing fake listings. These listings can be convincing and use legitimate addresses and photos of the property to deceive potential renters. Bad actors pressure applicants to quickly sign a lease and submit payments, such as non-refundable application fees, the first month's rent, and/or a deposit before seeing the property. Once paid, the fraudster will cease all communications, scamming the individual out of their money and potential housing.
VA is committed to ensuring Veterans have a safe place to live and know how to recognize rental scams to protect themselves against fraud. To better inform Veterans when searching for housing, VA provides the following guidance.
Warning signs of rental scams
Prevention strategies to remember
Veterans need to know they are not alone. VA provides comprehensive support for Veterans, including those who face the harsh realities of homelessness. VA offers a wide range of resources to help homeless Veterans regain stability and access the services they need. If you are the victim of a rental scam, call the police and give them all the details: texts, emails, lease agreement information, listing information, etc.
If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 4AID-VET (877-424-3838) for assistance. You can also call or visit your local VA Medical Center or Community Resource and Referral Center, where VA staff are ready to help. Explore www.va.gov/homeless to learn about VA programs for Veterans who are homeless and share that information with others.
If a Veteran is missing a VA benefits payment, identifies a discrepancy in payments or finds suspicious activity within their direct deposit account, contact VA immediately at 1-800-827-1000. If an entity is projecting misinformation or has questionable business practices, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov. To learn more about identifying fraud and protecting VA benefits, visit Protecting Veterans From Fraud | Veterans Affairs (va.gov).