Hot Issues

This page contains information of interest on a variety of topics. The purpose of the page is to highlight, for a short time, significant information. After a period of time, the information is moved to the appropriate topic page such as Money Matters, Health Matters, or one of the other pages. Some information may also be moved to the U.S. Military Retirees Association Korea area, which contains sub-pages with general information of interest to Korea retirees concerning retirees and widows.

It's a Scam: The FBI Isn't Going to Send You E-mail

10-16-11 Leonard Pritchett can rest assured that the "FBI" is looking out for his financial well-being. Pritchett received an e-mail assuring him of that. However, he immediately recognized it as a scam.

According to the e-mail from "Mrs. Maria McCarthy of the FBI Foreign Remittance and Telegraphic Department," the FBI was notified that the Central Bank of Nigeria has released the paperwork for $100,500,000 to be sent to the Bank of America. McCarthy wrote that the bank transfer "...has been handled by GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. and your name was included as the BENEFICIARY BY INHERITANCE MEANS." McCarthy went on to explain the efforts the agency has made to help innocent victims.

"It comes to our notice after several meetings with the UNITED NATION (U.N.) over Internet fraud which have been going on around the globe recently and rendering innocent individual homeless and bankrupt, therefore we have made connections with every NATIONAL GOVERNMENT and we have been successful so far by getting most of the funds released and we are transferring it into the rightful beneficiary accounts." (more…)

News of the Force (page 2), Oct 15

Key Committee: Whack Commissaries

7-2-11 Among the bills approved by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee this week was the "Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2011" (S. 277), sponsored by Sen. Burr (R-NC), the senior Republican on the Committee. The bill would authorize VA health care for former military family members and veterans and certain family members stationed at Camp Lejeune between 1957 and 1987, when the water at the base is acknowledged to have been contaminated with carcinogens.

MOAA indicated its support for the bill and other pending measures in a letter to Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Burr. But that was before the committee voted unanimously, without notice or hearing, to fund the care by eliminating the federal subsidy for military commissaries and directing consolidation of all DoD commissaries and exchanges. MOAA strongly opposes this sneak attack on the military benefit package.

First, the Veterans Affairs Committee has no jurisdiction over and no knowledge of DoD commissary and exchange systems, which are under the purview of the Armed Services Committee.

Second, they propose virtually dismantling the commissary system without any hearings or other effort to assess the adverse impact of such a dramatic cut to a core military benefit. There are good reasons why the Armed Services Committee [member]s, who actually understand the commissary and exchange programs, have ardently rejected similar proposals for the last four decades.

Third, they seek to poach DoD funds to pay for VA health care at a time when DoD personnel budgets already are under threat.

MOAA supports expanding VA care to cover Camp Lejeune veterans, but the Veterans Affairs Committee needs to find another way to fund it besides raiding the military commissary system. Make no mistake, without the federal subsidy, military commissaries would eventually go out of business, as prices would have to rise, and savings to customers would be lost.

The commissary is one of DoD's most cost-effective people programs. Every dollar of the subsidy translates to nearly three dollars of benefit value to patrons (and considerably more than that for lower-grade enlisted families). Where else can the Pentagon get that kind of compensation bang for the buck?

Use MOAA's suggested message to urge your senators to reject this attack on military commissaries.

MOAA Legislative Update, Jul 2

New E-Mail Scam Misrepresents Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

6-4-11 Perpetrators commonly use various government agencies or officials to legitimize their scams. Most recently, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received several complaints which fraudulently represent the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Victims reported they received an e-mail claiming to be from the U.S. Department of the Treasury stating their lost funds, which were stolen and diverted to a foreign account registered in their name, have been recovered. The e-mail advised to cease all money transactions, especially overseas, and to respond to the e-mail so the lost funds could be returned. The e-mail further stated the U.S. government is making adequate arrangements to ensure outstanding beneficiaries receive their funds. The e-mail is signed by James H. Freis, Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and requires victims to provide personally identifiable information that could potentially result in identity theft.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury posted a scam alert on their website on April 13, 2011, stating they do not send unsolicited requests and do not seek personal or financial information from members of the public by e-mail and recommending that recipients not respond to such messages. The alert further provides the link to the Internet Crime Complaint Center for victims to report solicitations claiming to be from the U.S. Treasury.

Courtesy of the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness, Office of Security and Law Enforcement.

The Retired Enlisted Association Washington Update for June 3

Malicious Software Features bin Laden Links to Ensnare Unsuspecting Computer Users

5-4-11 The FBI today warned computer users to exercise caution when they receive e-mails that purport to show photos or videos of Osama bin Laden's recent death. This content could be a virus that could damage your computer. This malicious software, or "malware," can embed itself in computers and spread to users' contact lists, thereby infecting the systems of associates, friends, and family members. These viruses are often programmed to steal your personally identifiable information.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) urges computer users to not open unsolicited (spam) e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages. Even if the sender is familiar, the public should exercise due diligence. Computer owners must ensure they have up-to-date firewall and anti-virus software running on their machines to detect and deflect malicious software.

The IC3 recommends the public do the following:

Adjust the privacy settings on social networking sites you frequent to make it more difficult for people you know and do not know to post content to your page. Even a "friend" can unknowingly pass on multimedia that's actually malicious software.
Do not agree to download software to view videos. These applications can infect your computer.
Read e-mails you receive carefully. Fraudulent messages often feature misspellings, poor grammar, and non-standard English.
Report e-mails you receive that purport to be from the FBI.

Criminals often use the FBI's name and seal to add legitimacy to their fraudulent schemes. In fact, the FBI does not send unsolicited e-mails to the public. Should you receive unsolicited messages that feature the FBI's name, seal, or that reference a division or unit within the FBI or an individual employee, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

News of the Force (Evening Edition) May 3

Your Responsibilities as a Foreign Resident of Korea

11-16-08 As a military retiree and United States citizen living in Korea, you have responsibilities to both the United States and to the Republic of Korea. While residing outside the U.S. and not an active duty military member, you are required to have a valid U.S. passport in your possession. There are no qualifications or exceptions to exempt you from this responsibility. You MUST have a valid passport.

Updated 3-8-09 In that valid passport you MUST have a valid visa issued by a Republic of Korea Immigration Office. There is only one exception. Temporary visitors without visa can get stamped in upon arrival for a maximum stay of 30 90 days and must show a return ticket or ticket to a follow-on destination outside Korea. Retirees with the C-3 Tourist visa are limited to a maximum stay of 90 days per visit.

11-16-08 If you are working for USFK and you have SOFA status, then the visa must be category A-3. Some retirees work for USFK but do not have SOFA status. In that case, another category of work visa must be obtained. Resident Alien categories of visa vary as far as work or non-work. If you are married to a Korean citizen, you can work if you have the F-2 visa. If you were born in Korea but now have U.S. citizenship, you can work with the F-4 visa. The F-1 and F-3 visas are non-work visas and you are in violation of Korean law if you work with either of these resident visas.

Why do I bring this up now? Well, once again a retiree has died without having a valid visa of any type in his passport. This is a violation of Korean law and subjects a person (or the survivors of a deceased person) to stiff fines. This is not the first time this has occurred and the Korean Immigration authorities become more upset with each instance of a U.S. military retirees dying in this situation. Both the U.S. Embassy and United States Forces Korea become involved.

So why should you, the law-abiding retiree, worry about what other retirees do? Because punishment after the fact is not a deterrent to those who remain in violation of the laws of one or both countries. We could be facing special rules applied to the entire retiree community because of a few offenders. It may, for example, become a requirement for you to show a valid passport with valid visa as part of the ration card application or vehicle registration process; or ID card renewal (including dependent ID cards); or contract renewal for contractors; or personnel actions for civil service employees. And if this doesn't fix the problem, more intrusive restrictions or corrective actions may be applied to our group.

I've spoken to retirees who know retirees who lack a valid visa or even lack a valid passport. If you know someone like that, please, please urge the individual to fix it NOW. Otherwise, we may all suffer the consequences. I don't want that and I hope you don't want that either. Please help!