Forwarded email purporting to originate from U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs attorney Michael G. Daugherty warns veterans to avoid dealing with an unaffiliated organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS).
Description: Viral email
Circulating since: Nov. 2010
Status: Fake
Example:
Email text contributed by "Jreim," Nov. 26, 2010:
WARNING TO VETERANS
Forwarded by Kevin Secor, VSO Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
An organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS) is providing benefit and general information on VA and gathering personal information on veterans.
This organization is not affiliated with VA in any way.
http://www.vaservices.org/us/index.html
VAS may be gaining access to military personnel through their close resemblance to the VA name and seal. Our Legal Counsel has requested that we coordinate with DoD to inform military installations, particularly mobilization sites, of this group and their lack of affiliation or endorsement by VA to provide any services.
In addition, GC requests that if you have any examples of VAS acts that violate chapter 59 of Title 38 United States Code, such as VAS employees assisting veterans in the preparation and presentation of claims for benefits, please pass any additional information to Mr.Daugherty at the address below.
Michael G. Daugherty
Staff Attorney
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of General Counsel (022G2)
Analysis: It's true that there's a non-governmental organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS), and it's also true that VAS is neither affiliated with nor officially sanctioned by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. However, the above message is a hoax. According to VA sources, the text wasn't authored by Dept. of Veterans Affairs attorney Michael G. Daugherty and did not originate from any VA office.
In December 2010 the Better Business Bureau investigated the message and concluded the following:
It is reasonable to suspect that the email may be an attempt to upload a virus as it contains a Facebook link [not present in the example above] directly beneath the first paragraph of the message.
The BBB advises anyone who receives this email to not click on the link. You should never click on links in emails that are from unknown sources as they may contain viruses. Such viruses are typically designed to steal private information from your computer. Also, the VA advises veterans seeking the assistance of a VA-recognized service organization for purposes of submitting a claim for VA benefits to search at the General Counsel’s accreditation search page: http://www4.va.gov/ogc/apps/accreditation/index.asp.
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Sources and further reading:
'Warning to Veterans!!' Email Is a Fake
Better Business Bureau, 7 December 2010Apparent Email Scam Targeting Veterans
Times Record News, 20 December 2010'Warning to Vets' Email Hoax
Military Officers Assoc. of America, 9 December 2010
Last updated 12/30/10
