Our military members risk their lives in service to our country. Sadly, while they are deployed overseas, and even after they retire from service, scammers may target them to try to make a dishonest dollar. July is Military Consumer Protection Month, and in recognition of the month, I launched our Patriot Protection Week Campaign. This initiative aims to help Florida’s service members and veterans guard against military-related scams by directly providing them consumer protection tips and resources.

As part of our Campaign, I released our 2019 Military Consumer Protection Resource Guide. The Guide is full of information, advice and resources to help the more than 90,000 active and reserve members of the Armed Forces and 1.5 million veterans who call Florida home.

Tips to avoid common military-related scams include:

• Beware of scammers using misleading photos or language to imply association with a branch of the U.S. Military;
• Verify the authenticity of an email or text that appears to be from a military branch. Phishing schemes use manipulated messages that appear to be from a military branch or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in an effort to target service members, veterans or their family members;
• Ensure any veterans charity soliciting funds is registered with the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 800HelpFla.com; and
• Place an active duty alert on credit reports at no cost. An active duty alert requires businesses to take additional steps before granting credit in the name of active duty personnel serving overseas.

There are even more tips and strategies to help protect military members from consumer fraud in the Attorney General’s Military Consumer Protection Guide. The download the Guide, click here.

I will always stand up for those who risk their lives for our safety and freedom and do everything in my power to stop military and veterans-related scams. By protecting those who protect us, we will build a stronger, safer Florida.