These things usually travel the country, worth sharing with your military friends and their families are aware.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell says a new scam is targeting veterans, claiming they have they're owed thousands of dollars.

Veterans are being targeted over the phone, with the scammers claiming to be from Veterans Affairs. They're telling veterans that they have thousands of dollars coming to them.

Pickell says he's received reports from veterans about these suspicious phone calls. The scammer says he is from the VA and he informs the vet that there was a problem with their records and they are owed up to $20,000 in back pay.

Then what happens next is where the red flag goes up. The scammer tells the vet that in order to receive the money they need their bank account information and they will wire the money into their account.

Pickell says this one is more believable in light of the scandal surrounding the v-a.

"Because of all of the bad publicity that the Veterans Affairs has received you always get some scammers taking advantage of a situation," says Pickell. "Elderly people are trusting and some of them have given their account numbers and been wiped out."

Pickell says if anyone receives a call like this, don't give out any information and hang up.

If you feel you've been victim to this scam, call the Genesee County Consumer Protection Bureau at 810-257-3407.

Alleged scam targeting veterans - WNEM TV 5