🇺🇸Honoring Veterans: Protecting Those Who Protected Us
This Veterans Day, we pause to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who served — and to support them in the next chapter of their lives.
As more veterans and their families connect online for healthcare, benefits, and community, they also face a growing number of scams targeting their trust and service.
🕵️♀️ Honor Their Service & Protect Their Identity
Veterans are often targeted by scams that promise benefits, pension increases, or disability claims. These schemes usually come through email, phone, or social media.
Here’s how to stay protected:
The VA will never ask for your Social Security number, bank account, or login details by email or text.
Only access benefits through official sites: va.gov or benefits.va.gov.
Sign up for free credit monitoring through the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) to catch identity theft early.
Hang up on unsolicited calls about “veterans programs” that require personal details, even if they sound legitimate.
💻 Staying Cyber-Safe After Service
Many veterans use online communities to reconnect or manage their healthcare, but these same platforms attract scammers and impostors.
Keep your connections safe:
Use strong, unique passwords for each account — and store them in a password manager like 1Password (no sticky notes needed!).
Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever it’s offered.
Be cautious of strangers who quickly ask for personal details, money, or “help transferring funds.”
Keep devices and browsers up to date — those patches fix vulnerabilities that hackers love to exploit.Want to Swim Smarter?
Know someone who’d appreciate this information? Forward this newsletter and help us grow everyone’s digital confidence!
💬 Helping Veterans and Families Build Digital Confidence
Just as veterans watched out for their brothers and sisters in uniform, we can help watch out for them now in the digital world.
Family members can help by:
Sitting down together to review account privacy settings, security questions, and device updates.
Encouraging questions- cybersecurity can be confusing, and no one should feel embarrassed to ask for help.
Sharing trusted resources like the AARP Fraud Watch Network or FTC Scam Alerts.
💼 From Service to Cyber: A New Mission in Tech
Cybersecurity and IT fields are filled with opportunities for veterans and many programs help make that transition smoother, often at no cost.
Explore these programs:
CyberVetsUSA – Offers free online cybersecurity training for transitioning service members and veterans.
Veterans Cybersecurity Training Program (ISC²) – Provides discounted or free training and certifications like CISSP and CCSP.
Microsoft Software & Systems Academy (MSSA) – Helps veterans prepare for tech careers through structured learning and job placement support.
Hire Our Heroes and VetSec – Nonprofits connecting veterans with IT mentors and employers in cybersecurity and cloud computing.
The discipline, problem-solving, and mission mindset veterans bring to service translate beautifully to protecting networks, data, and organizations.
🎆 The Good News
He repays everyone for what they have done; he brings on them what their conduct deserves. Job 34:11
Be safe,
