Protect Yourself From Scamming If You Are Old Soldier
Friday, November 12, 2010, 6:37 AM | 2 Comments
I don’t know where the caller got my phone number from, telling me he can get me more benefits in “Old Soldier Dollars – OSD”. If there is a separate phone book of the names of all veterans, I ought not be in it. I have a simple reason for that. I am not a veteran of any wars. The only alphabet in OSD that applies to me is O. I am old and with a lot less dollars in my name that the caller can think of.
Then I did some research. In my present hometown and the previous one which is only a couple of miles away, I called community centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I was told that OSD callers have continually called their tenants with, in effect, similar sales pitch.
Old Veterans Dollars Sales Pitch
The sales pitch goes something like this: “We can get you instant eligibility for additional benefits through a quick visit to your investment portfolio.” The callers are nothing but scammers and scums trying to drain every blood from the vets’ financial livelihood.
“If you purchase financial products through us, we will make you eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs pensions and other benefits.” States have started combating these scams. One state, Montana, in particular has helped form a task force to combat this growing scam of the utmost against our dearest vets.
Details for the OSD sales pitch…
The sales pitch involves deceiving and pressuring the vets to transfer their retirement assets into an irrevocable trust. This kind of trust means that it cannot be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary. The grantor (the vet) has transferred assets into the trust which effectively removes all of his or her rights of ownership to the assets and the trust.
Cautionary note…
The Veterans Administration does not examine why you may be a millionaire one day and poverty-stricken the next, but the good old Medicare does keep an eye and look back at your financial history. When it sees that you have transferred all your assets in this manner, it could jeopardize your eligibility for Medicare benefits.
The new trust usually contains long-term investments that are often considered inappropriate for older retirees – vets or not. The unscrupulous salesmen show no moral principles and are dishonest to their bones. They are better known as crooks and scums that, of all the people, try to drain the last blood from the veterans’ financial life.
The salesmen convince veterans of annuities
Annuity in general is quite good but in case of a lot older Americans, the long term attached with it – a decade or so – might not be very fruitful for the holders. Nevertheless, research shows that a $500,000 annuity could yield the agent $75,000 for just a few hours of work. Other investments pitched by these scums at free lunch seminars are totally bogus and scams.
More information if you are a vet…
If you are a vet, here is more information you should be aware of that are provided by AARP (Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons):
- Don’t be fooled by official-sounding names. They falsely claim that they have some kind of affiliation with the Veterans Administration.
- Don’t depend on nursing homes and other such centers for senior citizens. Often they are given a fee for letting these scums give presentations at their facilities.
- Get credible information on how to qualify for veterans benefits by directly contacting your state veterans affairs agency at National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs.
- Before investing, check the agent’s record at your state regulatory office. For a list, Contact North American Securities Administrators Association.
In a Nutshell
If you receive such a call, be very skeptical. Don’t get into something that you might regret later if not sooner. Do your own research. If you can’t, ask your younger loved ones to do it for you.
2 Responses to “Protect Yourself From Scamming If You Are Old Soldier”
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