IL National Guard Members & Families Target of Back Pay Scam

By Benjamin Cox on August 4, 2022 at 9:14pm

telephone scam is targeting Central Illinois National Guard members and their families.

The Illinois National Guard said the call involves someone claiming to be a first sergeant calling about back pay owed to dependents. In one call, a solider was told he needed to provide details about his last three active-duty paychecks, give his account balance and then send a $278.24 digital payment to receive $1,200 back pay. The soldier became suspicious and notified his superiors, who told him to stop the payment and file a police report.

According to a statement from the Illinois National Guard, officials will not reach out to soldiers, airmen or their families about back pay issues without notifying leadership of the issue. Any suspicious calls of this nature should be reported immediately to he soldier’s unit and chain of command.

Guard members are reminded to never pay any money to any individual regarding military pay issues.