The fraudulent attacks on our seniors is rampant. As they plan for retirement, and after, senior citizens may fall victim to fraud including advance fees, prime bank note schemes, pyramid schemes, and Nigerian letter fraud. With family, friends and the media warning our seniors, they are more hypervigilant than ever. So what should your case managers being doing to “prove their legitamacy” when a potential lead thinks that a VA pension sounds too good to be true?

Quote them the facts:

1. They can check the VA.gov website to check for accreditation.
2. Share your website and have a strong online presence.
3. Do you utilize social media?  The length of time your social media pages have been active is a great indicator that you are a legitimate business.
4. Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau?  Direct them to check with the Better Business Bureau on your rating.  It usually shows how many years you have been in service as well.
5. Be personable.  Showing concern goes a long way.

Does this work?  Yes!

Is it worth it?  Yes!

For example:

Today I returned a call from a gentleman that was looking to retire and had heard something about a different pension other than service-connected.  Since he had never heard of it he automatically thought that this had to be a scam of some sort.  He hung up, fortunatly he had left me his email and had not asked to go on the DND (do not disturb) list.  I sent him a polite letter with the link to our social media, our websites and told him where he could gather more information about us.

A few hours later he called back and was ready to move forward, and not just for himself, but for his Mother-in-law and a friend that is a Veteran with serious health problems as well.