The fact that scammers have no scruples whatsoever has been proven again recently with first responders and other people suffering illnesses related to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 receiving telephone calls from scammers posing as representatives of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund which was enacted by Congress to provide compensation to victims of the attack including first responders and those people who developed health issues attributable to working on removal of debris from the site of the World Trade Center Towers following the attacks. Claims may still be made for compensation from the fund until December 18, 2020 and it is being reported that many first responders are receiving telephone calls from scammers posing as representatives of the fund who ask for the Social Security number of the targeted victim of the scam under the guise that it is needed for verification purposes. The scammers have also been asking for mailing addresses, bank account numbers and medical histories. Anyone providing such information will become a victim of identity theft.
TIPS
Representatives of the real fund generally do not communicate by phone with people filing claims with the fund. Usually the fund communicates with applicants through either regular mail or email. In addition, following the first reports of this scam, the fund changed its verification protocols and will not ask for full Social Security numbers of applicants. It is also important to remember that through a technique called spoofing, scammers can trick Caller ID to make it appear that the call is coming from the Victim’s Compensation Fund when in truth, the call is coming from a scammer. It is a good policy to never give personal information to anyone who calls you unless you have verified their legitimacy. The better course of action is to hang up the phone and call the real entity at a telephone number that you know is correct. In the case of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, you can call their hotline at 855-885-1555 or go to their website at https://www.vcf.gov/
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