Someone pretending to be an attorney with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is sending an email to military veterans “warning” them against using the services of a group called Veterans Affairs Services. BBB Military Line, a complaint resource specialized for the military and their families, has received several inquiries about the email.

The email appears to come from, “Michael G. Daugherty, Staff Attorney with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of General Counsel (022G2)”. The email header, however, shows that it was sent by Jon Thompson with an email address: jkt6@comcast.net.

BBB Military Line officials have confirmed with the VA that Michael Daugherty is, in fact, an attorney with the VA Office of General Counsel but did not send the email and that no emails of this nature are being sent by the VA.

It is reasonable to suspect that the email may be an attempt to upload a virus as it contains a Facebook link directly beneath the first paragraph of the message.

BBB advises anyone who receives this email to not click on the link. You should never click on links in emails that are from unknown sources as they may contain viruses. Such viruses are typically designed to steal private information from your computer. Also, the VA advises veterans seeking the assistance of a VA-recognized service organization for purposes of submitting a claim for VA benefits to search at the General Counsel’s accreditation search page.

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