{"id":25165,"date":"2022-11-03T19:25:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T19:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/11\/03\/beware-of-scammers-charging-you-to-file-for-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:59:15","slug":"beware-of-scammers-charging-you-to-file-for-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/your-career\/2022\/11\/03\/beware-of-scammers-charging-you-to-file-for-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware of scammers charging you to file for benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Consumer advocates are reminding veterans that you don\u2019t have to pay someone to file disability claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome dishonest businesses set their sights on the monetary benefits veterans get for their service, especially with the passing of the PACT Act<\/a>, which expands VA benefits and health care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances,\u201d wrote the Federal Trade Commission in a recent consumer alert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cScammers also try to get in your good graces by emphasizing \u2014 maybe even stretching the truth about \u2014 their time in service,\u201d the alert stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could mean a hefty financial burden for veterans, said Marty Callaghan, deputy director of benefits and claims services for the American Legion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad the FTC did that, because these folks are out for profits,\u201d Callaghan said. \u201cThey charge too much money for their services, especially when veteran service organizations like the American Legion, VFW and DAV and the others can provide these services for free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the last fiscal year, the American Legion alone helped veterans get $16 billion in benefits, Callaghan said. \u201cMultiply that by all the other veteran service organizations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VA can help veterans find a VA-recognized organization or a VA-accredited individual<\/a> to help them file a claim. The VA advises veterans to ask up front whether they will have to pay any money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, predatory companies charge 500% to 600% of the monthly benefit the veteran receives. So if, for example, a veteran receives a monthly benefits increase of $1,000, the veteran would owe the company $5,000 to $6,000 \u201cright off the bat,\u201d he said. Veterans sign a contract, but may not realize the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with Congress and other veteran service organizations to try to get this problem taken care of. It\u2019s gotten worse since the pandemic started,\u201d Callahan said. \u201cThese companies are making millions of dollars off of our veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve turned veterans\u2019 disability benefits into a for-profit venture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act<\/a>, better known as the PACT Act, expands and extends eligibility for VA health care for veterans with toxic exposures and veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9\/11 eras. It adds more than 20 additional presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic exposures, and adds more presumptive-exposure locations for Agent Orange and radiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those include 12 types of cancer and 12 other respiratory illnesses linked to burn pit exposure in the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) for veterans who served in Vietnam; and radiation-related illnesses for veterans who served in several new locations in the 1960s and early 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With presumptive conditions, veterans don\u2019t have to prove that their service caused the condition. They just have to meet the service requirements for the condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\t