WASHINGTON – The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command is warning about a new website scam in which criminals are attempting to take advantage of soldiers and their families.
The “My Army Benefits” website is not an official website, officials said, and is neither affiliated with nor endorsed in any way by the United States Army.
The primary purpose of the site is to collect soldiers' Army Knowledge Online, or AKO, email accounts and passwords, officials said. It also makes the false claim that the U.S. military has granted access to unclaimed and accumulated benefits for active duty soldiers, and that benefits not claimed within the stipulated period will be available for claims after 60 months.
Criminal Investigation Command officials strongly recommend that soldiers, Army civilians, retirees and family members avoid the website and ignore any information or claims posted on it. They also recommend deleting suspicious or unsolicited emails immediately, without response.
Most online scam attempts are easily recognizable, officials said, because they usually involve unsolicited emails or text messages. Hoax websites often contain misspelled words and punctuation and grammatical errors, they added, and often ask for private information such as an email address and password.
Officials noted that cybercrime and Internet fraud present challenges to law enforcement agencies, as criminals mask their true identities and locations and cover their tracks quickly. Websites and accounts can easily be established and deleted in very little time, they said, allowing scam artists to strike and then disappear before law enforcement agencies can respond.
Because identifying the perpetrators is difficult, people must stay alert and be personally responsible for protecting themselves and their families online.
Criminal Investigation Command provided the following advice for anyone who has received correspondence from the My Army benefits website or provided information through it:
-- Do not log in to the website;
-- Do not respond to any emails;
-- Stop all contact if you have previously responded to any emails; and
-- Immediately contact your local information assurance office if you accessed the website from a government computer or system.
