MACON, Ga. — Veterans Day is Thursday, and while many of us will honor those who've served our country, some people are finding ways to cheat them.
According to the Better Business Bureau, military families and veterans are more at risk of losing money to scammers.
Joe Burke, a 50-year-old Army veteran, says he knows about scams all too well.
That's because he's seen them disguised as, "People buying stuff through PayPal, single veterans getting scammed with dating sites, mail order stuff, all kind of things," Burke said.
Burke says he's never been the victim of a scam, but many veterans have.
"It infuriates me. I think they target veterans because we have a genuinely helping nature, and I wouldn't say that we fall for it, but scammers are getting really smart," Burke said.
The Better Business Bureau says active military are about 60% more likely to get scammed than your average person, and veterans are about 46% more likely.
"What makes someone from the military a good target for someone wanting to rip them off? They've got a guaranteed check each and every month. To a scam artist, that's guaranteed income," Kelvin Collins said.
Kelvin Collins with the bureau says the biggest scams happen when they are shopping online, applying for jobs, shopping for cars, or buying a pet.
There are some ways to steer clear of these scams.
"The best thing that anybody can do is just, don't feel pressured to make a decision right then. Make sure that if you feel pressure or don't feel right about it, it's OK to say no and walk away. If it's a good deal today, it will still be a good deal tomorrow," Collins said.
Collins also urges military families and veterans not to share personal information, and not to use unusual forms of payment when paying off debt or buying things online.
They should also avoid using gift cards or wire transfers.
This way, if they do get caught in a scam, they are able to fight the claim through their company before losing out on the money.