Recently, police, FBI, Interpol, customs, and health regulatory authorities from 90 countries joined forces to stop illicit online sales of medicines and medical products like face masks. They found approximately 2,000 online links advertising items related to COVID-19 and seized over 34,000 masks. The FBI also warns that children who are home from school and spending more time online may be at an increased risk for exploitation.

Here’s a quick summary of the scams and resources that can help. Follow the NCIS Facebook page for resources specifically targeting Marines, Sailors, their familes and the greater Marine Corps community. Call the NCIS COVID-19 Fraud/Scam Hotline at 1-800-386-8762 to report anything suspicious, or get clarity on any communications you are unsure of. 

Free Vaccines and Special Virus Tests and Kits Scam

Beware of con artists pitching free vaccines and special virus tests and kits that claim they are covered by insurance. These false offers require payment for fees and shipping. They entice people to order over the phone or internet.

What to do:
If someone calls or sends an email offering COVID-19 testing and it has not been authorized by a physician, they are advised to call the police immediately and keep a record of the person's name and the date of the encounter.

• Complete an electronic report to the Federal Trade Commission.
• Register and report unwanted calls to ‘The National Do Not Call Registry.’
• Register your home or mobile phone for free.

Patient Insurance Cancelled Scam

This scam is when service members receive unsolicited calls saying a loved one is sick in the hospital with COVID-19. The scammer warns that the patient health insurance was cancelled and entice the service member to pay over the phone to reinstate coverage.

What to do:
Hang up on the connected call, and do not talk with the caller.  If service members, spouses, or family members need to discuss current coverages here are two credible resources:

• Online: MilConnect
• By phone: TRICARE (click the link to find your local number)

Low-Cost COVID-19 Insurance Scam

Scammers are pitching low-cost “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” health coverage with no waiting period, deductibles or exclusions. Expect robocalls mostly. The promise of full coverage at affordable prices is the pitch. The callers borrow legitimacy as they claim to be mainstream insurance companies. People are asked to call a toll-free number where a trained marketer may try to sell coverage.

What to do:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) wants you to take extra precautions to spot and stop scammers before it’s too late. Read their article “Tips to Protect Yourself against COVID-19 Scams.”

• If you have a problem with an insurance company or agent, file a complaint with the NAIC.

Scams to Deployed Service Members’ Spouses

These military families are vulnerable to bogus cold-callers and spam emails claiming to be from insurance agents. The scammers will pitch false COVID-19 insurance policies.  

What to do:

If service members, spouses or family member need to discuss current coverages, go online to:

• MilConnect
• TRICARE (click the link to find your local number)

Robocalls Scam

Hackers use ‘robo’ technology to pitch false insurance deals to consumers of all ages, daily. These pitches may ask consumers to pay insurance premiums without delivering coverage. These robo COVID-19 insurance cons also can work to steal people’s medical and financial identities.

What to do:
Report illegal robocalls to the Federal Trade Commission. Simply ignore pitches for coronavirus or COVID-19 insurance. Click “OFF” or delete email. No response is the correct response.

Phishing Email Scam

Scammers can obtain your personal data by sending phishing emails. Clicking links to fake insurers may load viruses on your computer that puts you at risk of identity theft.

What to do:

The best thing to do when a phishing email is received is to delete it. Here are some warning signs that may indicate a phishing attempt.

• Phishing emails are crafted by computer hackers, not English majors. Watch for spelling and grammatical mistakes. If an email includes spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors, it is likely a sign you’ve received a phishing email.
• Avoid emails that sounds like a salesman.  Phishing emails often try to create a sense of urgency or demand immediate action. If you click that link and provide your personal information, you may regret it. 
• Legitimate government agencies won’t ask for your personal information. Never respond to the email with your personal data. Even if the icon or logo looks legit.
• Read the warning letters issued by the FTC and FDA to seven sellers of unapproved and misbranded products, claiming they can treat or prevent the Coronavirus.
• You can report phishing to The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by sending email to phishing-report@us-cert.gov.

Scams to Veterans Age 65 or Older

 Veterans are being targeted by COVID-19 robocalls and other scams that ask for their health insurance information, particularly Medicare numbers. Veterans are also pitched fake covid-19 vaccines and tests. The scammer then makes false claims against the veteran’s Medicare account. There have been recent news reports that scammers even have approached residents at senior housing and assisted-living facilities for Medicare scams. There have been reports of teams in people in white coats going door-to-door offering fake virus testing. After money is exchanged, the victim is hit again with a phone call from someone pretending to be nurse offering test results after they receive a credit card number.

What to do:

• If a Marine gets a knock at their door offering medical testing, do not let them in. Call Military Police or local community police immediately. Also give your parents and grandparents this same information, and advise them never to give Medicare numbers to anyone they don’t know.
• If someone calls or sends an email offering COVID-19 testing and it has not been authorized by a physician, they are advised to call the police immediately and keep a record of the person's name and the date of the encounter.
• The Tricare MHS Nurse Advice Line is available to answer service members’ questions.
• The best defense is to say NO if anyone contacts you and asks for your Social Security number, bank account number, credit card information, Medicare ID number, driver’s license number, or any other personally identifiable information by phone, in person, by text message, or email.

Charity Scams

Military Service members and families must also beware of charity scams. Scammers will reach out via phone and pose as a real charity or pretend to be following up on a donation pledge.

What to do:

Verify a charitable organization’s authenticity before you donate. Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website to learn how to verify a charity.

Bread Crumbing Scam

Beware of PROFITs and NON-Profits that “breadcrumb’ you to buy Products and Services. They pretend to offer free consultation but will require you to purchase products and services.

What to do:

Ignore calls and emails claiming low-cost insurance or other suspicious deals. Don’t press “1” or another key to be removed from a call list.

References:

• Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project-OCCRP
• Elderly Veterans | VA.gov
• Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• FBI Warns Health Care Professionals of Increased Potential for Fraudulent Sales of COVID-19-Related Medical Equipment. Send FBI a TIP.

Article source: https://usmc-mccs.org/articles/beware-of-covid-19-financial-scams/?fbclid=IwAR3QAUuQJi2-TWw0CrnuldslWFxKcgPq9brrmVYs-kkaJ2GcwsjSP-DEY4M

UPDATE:  The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was passed and extended the period for collecting deferred 2020 Social Security taxes.  The period for collection is now January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021 (instead of January 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021). 
 
At the end of December, the 2020 Social Security tax deferral will end. Beginning January 2021, the normal 6.2% Social Security tax withholdings will again be deducted from pay for military members and civilians, and an additional deduction for the deferred 2020 Social Security tax collection taken from pay.

Per IRS guidance (as modified by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), the Social Security taxes deferred in 2020 will be collected from pay between January 1 and December 31, 2021.

Military Members -
For active duty military members, the 2020 deferred Social Security taxes will be collected in 24 installments, from your mid-month and end-of-month pay between January 1 and December 30, 2021.

For reservists and guardsmen performing intermittent duty in 2021, the amount collected may not be the same every pay period. DFAS will collect 2% of net available from each weekly, mid-month and end-of-month pay, and will continue until the deferred taxes have been repaid in full.

Beginning in January 2021, your myPay LES will reflect the monthly collection amount and contain a note in the remarks section that shows the remaining balance of deferred Social Security taxes.

Civilian Employees –
The amount of Social Security taxes deferred in 2020 will be collected in 24 installments between pay-periods ending January 16 and December 4, 2021.

Beginning in January 2021, your myPay LES Remarks section will include the 2020 deferred OASDI collection amount in that pay period, as well as the remaining balance to be collected.

If you separate or retire prior to the deferred Social Security tax being collected in full the unpaid balance will either be collected from your final pay or you may receive a debt letter with instructions for repayment.

Background
Pursuant to IRS Notice 2020-65 and at the direction of the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management, Social Security (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) or “OASDI” tax withholdings were temporarily deferred from September through December 2020 and will be collected from wages paid between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021, for employees who had wages subject to OASDI of less than $4,000 in any given pay period.  These actions were in response to the Presidential Memorandum issued on August 8, 2020.

Still have questions? See the Military and Civilian FAQs for more information.

Okay, Marines. Listen up. This is a new year, but it is no different than any other year in supporting your fellow Marines, FMF Corpsmen, and FMF Chaplains. Be there for someone and you will make a difference.

We each stood on the yellow footprints, coming from all backgrounds and belief systems. We were all different (we still are different!), but we stood for a common goal. That is what makes Marines. Standing and supporting each other.

Let 2021 be the year that you make a difference. Join a Marine Corps League detachment. Donate to the League. Recruit others to join. Connect the community to your local detachment. Reach out and make a difference. I promise that not only will you not regret it, but you will wonder why you did not make this effort years earlier.

The Marine Corps League’s door is open to you, regardless of MOS, rank, or time or place of service. The Marine Corps League is here for you, so you can be here for others.

Happy New Year Marines. Do good.

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today, the New Orleans and Bedford, Massachusetts VA Medical Centers are the first two department facilities to begin administration of COVID-19 vaccinations to frontline health care employees and Veterans residing in long-term care Community Living and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder centers.

See here for a photo of the first VA patient to receive the vaccine.

Both facilities are part of the initial group of 37 VA medical centers across the country that began receiving and administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week.

The sites were chosen for their ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.

COVID-19 vaccine implementation will include an initial limited-supply phase followed by a general implementation phase, when large supplies of the vaccine become available.

“Ultimately, the department’s goal is to offer the vaccine to all Veterans receiving care at VA,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “As increased vaccine supply is obtained, VA plans to distribute these vaccines at additional facilities to provide the vaccine to more Veterans and employees.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated  in clinical trials the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 disease. The vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, 21 days apart. The side effects appear similar to those of other vaccines and are short-lived. 

VA will report directly to the CDC data on all vaccine doses administered by VA. The department will also provide general, public updates on the number of people who receive the vaccination at these sites, similar to how VA posts COVID-19 testing figures.

Veterans seeking additional information may sign up to get updated information through VA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Keep Me Informed tool, visit the VA Coronavirus Vaccine FAQs webpage, contact their care team or visit their facility website.

###

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and Office of Information and Technology (OIT) successfully completed all Information Technology (IT) updates to process education benefits for Veterans.

The updates were completed Oct. 31 in accordance with the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also referred to as the Forever GI Bill,  which included 31 GI Bill®-related provisions that expanded and enhanced opportunities for Veterans using the GI Bill® in pursuit of their educational and career goals.

“These IT changes improve our ability to deliver education benefits to GI Bill® students.” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “As VA works to modernize processes, this milestone is an important step in our digital transformation journey — merging people, procedures and technology.”

Since 2018, VA has ensured Veterans realized the impact of these provisions — including restoration of entitlement, removal of the delimiting date to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill® and full benefits to eligible Purple Heart recipients — while implementing these changes within its IT systems.

The implementation of the Colmery Act has been a joint undertaking with VBA, OIT, MITRE Corporation and Accenture Federal Services. Working together as an integrated unit, the team delivered comprehensive software development, integration, testing, communications and training to meet immediate needs.

The “go-live” of Colmery Act IT updates ultimately changes the way VBA interfaces with Veterans.  The integrated solution allows VA to better serve Veterans in pursuit of their education and career goals through improved processing times, rapid response to legislation and fewer manual work arounds.

The team utilized an innovative Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to collaborate across multiple systems and VA offices, resulting in improved engagement, quality and efficiency. Despite transitioning to a virtual work environment in March, the team adapted quickly and continued to meet the mission leveraging the SAFe approach.

The following updates represent important benefits changes for GI Bill® students, as the Colmery Act expands opportunities under the Post-9/11 GI Bill®.

·        Removed the expiration of benefits for those who served on or after Jan.1, 2013.

·        Changed the way Post-9/11 GI Bill Monthly Housing Allowance is calculated.

·        Expanded Yellow Ribbon Program eligibility to include Purple Heart recipients.

·        Established the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship and improved the attendance verification process for scholarship recipients.

·        Proration of the entitlement charge for licensing, certifications, and national exams.

To communicate these important changes and provide updates throughout the implementation process, VA conducted extensive communication, outreach campaigns and gathered feedback. This included channels such as email, toolkits and focus groups, as well as grassroots efforts such as social media campaigns reaching more than 910,000 stakeholders, and a nine-state, 24-stop nationwide School Tour.

For more information on the bill visit VBA benefits.

For VA’s news releases

For Veterans: Coronavirus FAQs page

Further information:  VA's public health response.