WASHINGTON–While there is good news for members of the military in the Trump administration’s announcement thit will pay them a bonus $1,776 “Warrior Dividend,” those new funds are going to attract some bad actors, the Defense Credit Union Council is cautioning.
As the CU Daily reported here, the nearly $2,000 payments to members of the military will be delivered through the military pay system and funded by repurposed military housing assistance dollars.
Influx of Dollars, Influx of Fraud
“We’re thankful that they were able at the last minute to find a way to ensure that these payments were tax free, so I think that’s going to be an additional benefit to the hardworking men and women who are active duty all across the globe,” said Jason Stverak, chief advocacy officer with the Defense Credit Union Council. “But anytime there is a large influx or payment like we saw during COVID with the stimulus payments, there are those individuals that come and target (funds recipients) in fraud scams. These are unscrupulous actors. I know all of our credit unions are going to be working to ensure that they provide financial literacy in case members have questions, whether it’s how to spend, save, or invest a portion of or all of these bonuses.”
