Military Holiday Scams: How to Protect Your Money

The holidays bring a predictable spike in scams aimed at military families, and this year’s versions are more convincing than the obvious “you’ve won a prize” emails you might picture. Scammers know military life, they know payday, and they know exactly which pressure points to lean on. Here is what is actually making the rounds and how to shut it down before it costs you money.

The Bank App Scam Outside the Gate

Per an FTC consumer alert, scammers have been approaching people outside branches of your bank or credit union, claiming to be in a tough spot, sometimes with a crying child nearby, and asking for help sending money through the bank’s mobile app. Once the victim opens the app to help, the scammer reaches for the phone, supposedly to enter their own number. While the victim is distracted, often with questions about travel plans, the scammer is actually applying for instant loans in the victim’s name or moving money out of other linked accounts, not just completing the small transfer they asked for.

The tell here is the phone. No one who needs a small favor needs to physically hold your unlocked banking app to do it. If a stranger asks to touch your phone once it is open to a banking or payment app, end the conversation and walk away.

Fake Rental Listings If You Are Moving This Winter

If you have PCS orders this season, house hunting adds another opening for scammers. Per the FTC, some scammers invent listings for housing that is not actually for rent, while others steal photos from a real listing and repost it elsewhere at a below-market price to generate interest fast. Because they do not control the property, they will have an excuse for why you cannot tour it in person.

Warning signs to check before you send anyone money for a rental:

• The “landlord” insists on payment by cash, gift card, cryptocurrency, or a wire transfer service
• You cannot tour the property in person or through someone you trust
• The listed price is noticeably below other rentals in the same area
• A reverse image or address search turns up the same property listed elsewhere under a different landlord or price

Your new duty station’s relocation or housing referral office can help verify a listing before you commit to anything, and it costs you nothing to ask.

The “Benefits Buyout” Pitch Aimed at Veterans

A different scam targets veterans and military retirees directly: a caller offers a lump-sum cash payment, often called a pension advance, in exchange for all or part of your future pension payments. Per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you may end up with only a small amount of what you would have received by waiting for your full payments, and pension advance offers are illegal under federal law for pensions issued by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense. If anyone offers you a lump sum in exchange for your future VA or retirement payments, that is a signal to stop and verify through official channels, not a deal to move quickly on.

Gift Card and Charity Pressure

The classic holiday scam still works because it still catches people off guard: a caller or message claims to be a utility company, a service member’s chain of command, or a charity, and demands payment specifically in gift cards, saying it is urgent and cannot wait. No legitimate biller, government office, or charity asks to be paid in gift cards. If a request insists on that payment method, or insists you cannot hang up and call back to verify, treat it as a scam regardless of how official it sounds.

What to Do If You Spot One

Report it before you second-guess whether it is worth reporting. File a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and if any account information changed hands, contact that bank or card issuer directly using the number on the back of your card, not a number provided by whoever contacted you. If you already sent money through a mobile payment app, contact your bank immediately since some transfers can still be reversed if you act fast.

Protecting Your Accounts Year-Round

A single scam attempt is often a sign your information is circulating, not an isolated event. If you have not reviewed your accounts and credit recently, our military identity theft protection guide walks through the monitoring habits worth keeping up beyond the holiday season, and our guide to avoiding military housing scams covers the separate set of scams built around VA loans and home purchases specifically. If a scam has already dinged your credit, our credit repair guide for military families covers the rebuilding steps. And if the holidays themselves are stretching your budget thin, which is exactly when a “too good to pass up” offer feels tempting, our holiday spending tips for military families can help you plan around it instead.

The Bottom Line

The scams making the rounds this holiday season are built to exploit trust and urgency, not just gullibility, which is why they work on careful people too. Guard your phone once a banking app is open, verify any rental listing before you send a deposit, and treat any offer to buy out your future benefits as a reason to slow down, not sign. For a broader look at protecting your finances as a military family, The Edge offers a personalized learning path that covers fraud protection alongside the rest of your financial picture.

This article is general education, not individualized financial advice. Your situation is your own, and a decision this size deserves a conversation with someone who knows the details.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if a call from my bank is real?

Hang up and call the number on the back of your card or on the bank's official app, not a number the caller gives you. A legitimate bank will never ask you to hand over your phone or read back a one-time verification code to a stranger.

Are these scams targeting military families specifically, or is this general fraud?

Some, like the fake rental listing scam and the veterans benefits buyout pitch, are built specifically around military life events such as PCS moves and VA benefits. Others, like gift card demands, target everyone but tend to spike during the holidays regardless of audience.

What should I do if I already gave a scammer access to my banking app?

Contact your bank immediately to lock the account and review recent activity, change your login credentials from a different device, and file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Acting within the first day or two gives you the best chance of catching unauthorized transactions before they clear.

Should I warn family members who are not in the military about these scams?

Yes. The FTC's alert specifically notes that scammers approaching people outside military banks are counting on spouses, parents, and other relatives to be the ones sending money on a service member's behalf, sometimes without a clear read on what is normal versus suspicious for a military household. Sharing the specifics, especially the detail about a stranger asking to hold your unlocked phone, gives family members a concrete signal to watch for instead of a vague warning to "be careful."