(Toledo News Now) -
Honor
Flights are free of charge for all veterans, but there is a current scam in
northwest Ohio, asking veterans for credit card information or donations.
"I
think it's a shame that they're trying to gain advantage of the senior
citizens, and especially veterans," said Patrick, son of one scam victim.
Patrick's
father is a World War II vet who signed up to go on an Honor Flight in April.
"He
called me and told me he received a phone call from a board member of Honor
Flight," Patrick explained. "He says he gave them his credit card."
That
raised a red flag for Patrick, who knew the flight shouldn't require money.
"We
don't ever, ever, ever solicit the funds like that over the phone," said Lee
Armstrong, president of the Northwest Ohio Honor Flights. "That's not the way
we do it. It's not the way we work, we're never going to work like that."
Neither
Patrick nor Armstrong know how Patrick's father's information was found by the
scammers. Armstrong said he fears this scam has happened before. He said they
have made calls in the past to veterans who hung up on them immediately after
hearing the company name.
Wood
County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said, unfortunately, seniors tend to be a target
for these types of scams.
"They
are very giving people," he said. "They're very into helping others and
unfortunately when smooth-talking people call them and misrepresent themselves,
many times they believe them and truly think they're giving to the right cause."
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