The arc of a military career takes service members and their families from joining the military and getting a steady paycheck, to frequent moves and/or family separations, to an ultimate transition out of the military and starting life as a veteran. “Financial readiness”, a core mission pillar of the U.S. Department of Defense, includes knowing how to safely navigate the marketplace and make purchasing decisions that result in a successful, satisfying exchange between consumers and businesses. We all expect a trustworthy marketplace—but it is not always what we experience. Service members, military spouses and families, veterans and veteran business owners must have the tools and knowledge to discern the difference between a great deal and a scam in disguise.
BBB GOALS
Empower the military and veteran community to thrive in the marketplace by helping them:
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- Choose better businesses,
- Avoid losing money to fraud and scams,
- Make smart financial decisions about large purchases, searching for employment, planning for retirement, and much more.
About the program
- Alabama (Eastern)
- Arizona (Phoenix, Prescott, and Yuma regions)
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia (Columbus, Macon, Augusta regions)
- Michigan
- Nevada (Northern)
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- South Carolina (Eastern)
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wyoming
We are grateful to the following for their guidance in the development of our curriculum:
- Kris McBride, COO, Air Force Aid Society
- Eldon Mullis, COO, Army Emergency Relief
- Valerie Richards, Education Programs Manager, Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education®
- Andia Dinesen, EVP – Communications & Operations, Assoc. of Military Banks of America
- Shelley Polansky, CEO, Better Business Bureau-Northern Colorado/Wyoming
- Fredlena Cosby, Marketing & Communications Mgr, Better Business Bureau-SE VA/NE NC
- Jason Wong, COO, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
- Edward Carr, Military Affairs, Comcast NBCUniversal
- Shay Cook, Financial Readiness Manager, FINRA Investor Education Foundation
- Tara Alderete, Financial Educator, representing the National Foundation for Credit Counseling
- Tammy Barlet, VP Government Affairs, Student Veterans of America
- Monica Rivera, Chief, Stakeholder Engagement & Organizational Change Mgmt, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
- Ben Chance, Chief Fraud Officer, Zelle®
- Nolan Ashton, Senior Marketing Manager, Zelle®
Through a “train-the-trainer” program, community outreach professionals from the Better Business Bureau, along with credit counselors from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and Accredited Financial Counselor® (AFC®) professionals from the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE), are provided the knowledge and resources to deliver monthly in-person and virtual programming to military and veteran communities across the United States. Whether through hands-on, interactive workshops or via one-on-one counseling sessions, this program addresses the real-life needs of our veterans, service members and their families.
BBB Institute is proud to present this program with support from the following:
Zelle® consumer education efforts kicked off more than five years ago with a partnership promoting financial literacy among high school students. Over the years, Zelle has developed additional campaigns and partnerships including BBB to reach broader audiences and expand educational resources. In addition to sponsoring this train-the-trainer program, Zelle has produced informative videos spanning several online safety topics, including how to identify and avoid military scams.
The Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA), founded in 1959, is a not-for-profit association of banks operating on military installations, banks not located on military installations but serving military customers, and military banking facilities designated by the U.S. Treasury. The association’s membership includes both community banks and large multinational financial institutions, all of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Learn how to spot scams:
Explore educational content about how to identify the red flags of online scams at:
https://www.bbb.org/all/bbbi/red-flags
Watch explainer videos, learn the science behind scams, and test your knowledge at:
https://www.zellepay.com/safety-education/understanding-scams
Learn about the scams impacting military consumers at:
https://www.zellepay.com/safety-education/video-what-are-military-scams
The BBB Military & Veterans Initiative is conducted in partnership with the following organizations:
SALUTING TRUST NEWSLETTER
- Saluting Trust, BBB’s monthly e-newsletter features “how to” articles on avoiding scams and taking control of their finances (distributed to over 10,000 military and veteran subscribers). Subscribe to Saluting Trust
- Search the Saluting Trust archive.