August 1, 2022 – The Illinois National Guard says a new scam is targeting Soldiers and Airmen as well as their families.
A Soldier in the Illinois Army National Guard reported receiving a telephone call July 25 from someone impersonating a first sergeant regarding backpay for the Soldier’s dependents during basic training.
The person instructed the Soldier to log into the military pay and leave system and give him details about his last three active-duty pay checks, his current account balance and then instructed the Soldier to send him $278.24 via a digital payment app such as Venmo, Zelle, and CashApp, to an account under the name of Aryk Smith to receive upwards of $1,200 in backpay.
The person told the Soldier he would review the payment and work on getting the backpay. The Soldier, who became suspicious of the call and payment, reached out to their unit leaders who instructed the Soldier to cancel the payment and make a police report.
Soldiers are reminded that Military Pay will never reach out to them individually regarding backpay issues without the full-time unit support and the leadership knowing of the issue. If Soldiers receive a call as described, they should report it immediately to their unit and chain of command. If the Soldier is contacted about a debt they owe, they are able to have the debt taken from their military pay or make a check payable to the Department of Treasury. Soldiers should never pay any money to an individual regarding any military pay issue.
