Phishing emails, by which scammers and identity thieves attempt to lure you into either clicking on links contained within the email which download malware or trick you into providing personal information that will be used to make you a victim of identity theft, are nothing new. They are a staple of identity thieves and scammers and with good reason because they work.
Reproduced below is an email that I recently received that is not particularly convincing. It starts with the fact that the email address has nothing to do with the Department of Veterans Affairs, but rather appears to be that of an unfortunate individual whose email account had been hacked and made a part of a botnet of infected computers used by scammers to send out phishing emails such as this. The next red flags are that it does not contain the logo of the Department of Veterans Affairs and it does not provide a name in the salutation, but rather refers to the recipient as “customer” which is not how the VA would refer to a veteran. I have disarmed the link where it instructs to download your VA statement.
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| Dear Customer,
Your latest statement is now available for review. We’ve updated the document layout to make the information clearer and easier to read. You can access your copy using the secure link below from a desktop or laptop device. Download your statement – VA.gov
Regards, |
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| This is an automated message from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Please do not reply. © 2026 VA.gov — All rights reserved. |
TIPS
Obviously if you are not a Veteran you can be confident that is a scam. If you receive an email like this and think it may possibly be legitimate, merely contact the VA directly where you can confirm that it is a scam.
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