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DFAS warns of scam emails
by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Rojek
Defense Media Activity
4/20/2012 -- FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- Defense Finance and Accounting Service released a statement warning of email scams targeting military members, military retirees, and civilian employees.
According to the statement, the most recent email scam indicates that individuals who are receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs may be able to obtain additional funds from the Internal Revenue Service, but only if they send copies of their income tax information.
Scammers have even gone so far as to "spoof" DFAS email addresses so that the recipients would think it was actually coming from DFAS personnel. In a spoofing email, the scammer makes it appear that the message is coming from a legitimate source. This is to try to lure the reader into believing it's genuine.
"(Scammers) manage to find a way to appear legitimate when they're not," said Edward Peace, the senior cyberwarfare instructor for the 39th Information Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. To fool people, Peace said, the scam artist may create a server so that the URL is close to that of a legitimate site, for example using .mic instead of .mil at the end of the Web address. People can avoid these scams by closely reading the address from which the email was sent.
DFAS officials are developing pages on their website to highlight their official email policy, examples of scam emails and law enforcement agencies that can initiate an investigation.
DFAS officials are also trying to make this information readily available via myPay, Burghardt said.
"As long as you keep your login credentials private and to yourself, then your account is pretty much assured a fairly decent amount of security. But if you give that away or give out that information that people can use to get new credentials ... I can always impersonate you and say, 'I lost my login credentials, get me a new one.'"
Besides getting their personal information stolen, people can also fall victim to computer attacks by even opening these emails.
For example, if there are HTML attachments or links in the email, they can drop malware on the computer, usually a Trojan horse, Peace said. If this happens, the Trojan will call out to wherever they want it to and start to do series of different things, such as loading more malware on the computer or turn the computer into part of a botnet. In the latter scenario, one's computer is taken over by a hacker, made part of a larger network and used mostly for nefarious purposes.
To avoid falling victim to these computer viruses and malware, people using commercial email accounts should immediately erase these scam emails, Peace said.
For more information on the DFAS email policy, click here. For more retiree news and information, please visit www.retirees.af.mil.
Defense Media Activity
4/20/2012 -- FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. -- Defense Finance and Accounting Service released a statement warning of email scams targeting military members, military retirees, and civilian employees.
According to the statement, the most recent email scam indicates that individuals who are receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs may be able to obtain additional funds from the Internal Revenue Service, but only if they send copies of their income tax information.
Scammers have even gone so far as to "spoof" DFAS email addresses so that the recipients would think it was actually coming from DFAS personnel. In a spoofing email, the scammer makes it appear that the message is coming from a legitimate source. This is to try to lure the reader into believing it's genuine.
"(Scammers) manage to find a way to appear legitimate when they're not," said Edward Peace, the senior cyberwarfare instructor for the 39th Information Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. To fool people, Peace said, the scam artist may create a server so that the URL is close to that of a legitimate site, for example using .mic instead of .mil at the end of the Web address. People can avoid these scams by closely reading the address from which the email was sent.
DFAS officials are developing pages on their website to highlight their official email policy, examples of scam emails and law enforcement agencies that can initiate an investigation.
DFAS officials are also trying to make this information readily available via myPay, Burghardt said.
"As long as you keep your login credentials private and to yourself, then your account is pretty much assured a fairly decent amount of security. But if you give that away or give out that information that people can use to get new credentials ... I can always impersonate you and say, 'I lost my login credentials, get me a new one.'"
Besides getting their personal information stolen, people can also fall victim to computer attacks by even opening these emails.
For example, if there are HTML attachments or links in the email, they can drop malware on the computer, usually a Trojan horse, Peace said. If this happens, the Trojan will call out to wherever they want it to and start to do series of different things, such as loading more malware on the computer or turn the computer into part of a botnet. In the latter scenario, one's computer is taken over by a hacker, made part of a larger network and used mostly for nefarious purposes.
To avoid falling victim to these computer viruses and malware, people using commercial email accounts should immediately erase these scam emails, Peace said.
For more information on the DFAS email policy, click here. For more retiree news and information, please visit www.retirees.af.mil.
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Request Military Service Records ... DD-214s are now online
11/23/2011 - Please pass on to other vets. It's official: DD-214 discharge papers are NOW ONLINE. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access totheir DD-214s online: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/.
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his/her DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
11/23/2011 - Please pass on to other vets. It's official: DD-214 discharge papers are NOW ONLINE. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access totheir DD-214s online: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/.
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his/her DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
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