It’s not uncommon for veterans to react with healthy skepticism if they’ve never heard about Rivers of Recovery.
They’ve got a good reason. Veteran scams are prolific, and they make it harder for legitimate organizations like RoR.
Consumer Complaints
In all, the FTC received nearly three million complaints from consumers in 2018. Consumers reported losing nearly $1.48 billion to fraud in 2018—38 percent more than the year before.
And military personnel and their families are more likely to be targets of certain types of fraud.
The success of Rivers of Recovery is directly tied to the fact that our former participants are our biggest champions, and they often recruit new participants from contacts within veteran circles. Even then, the idea of a free, all-inclusive fly fishing trip is a pretty hard thing to believe.
And that prevents us from helping veterans who have a lot to gain from our unique approach to outdoor recreational therapy.
Spot Veteran Scams
Help us by sharing these tips for spotting veteran scams:
- Check for an organization’s address, phone number and website.
- Ask for details about what the charity does and how many service members it helps.
- Do a quick Google search for an organization’s name and words like “scam” or “complaint.”
- Check if the organization is registered with a charity regulator, like Charity Navigator.
- If giving a donation, pay by check or credit card. Never donate cash or pay via a gift card or wire transfer.
- Ask your family members, friends and social media connections about their experience with the organization.
Fighting against veteran fraud is one more way you can help combat veterans in your community.
Learn more about how to help.
