In a particularly heartless vishing scam, fraudsters posing as American Red Cross staff call families of military service members to tell them their deployed loved ones have been in wounded in Iraq.

These callers aim to con family members out of money and personal information while disarming them with the terrible news.

Scammers typically claim that the injured person is getting airlifted to Germany for medical attention, and may then ask for personal information, including the service member's Social Security number and date of birth. Family members may get an additional call requesting a donation to offset medical costs.

"Obviously, this is the lowest of the low who would prey on the fears of our families who have members deployed," says Lt. Col. Les' Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman. "They go through this horrible shock. And to find out it's not true is a relief, but then to realize that they've been bilked in the process, it just adds to the suffering."

The American Red Cross doesn't contact next of kin when a service member is injured or killed. Instead the individual's command or the service's casualty assistance branch handles notification.

"In the case of death it is always done in person," says Melnyk.

Notification of injury may be done over the phone so that families don't assume the worst possible news. But it will be done by the military, not the Red Cross. Of course, families might hear directly from their deployed relatives if the injury isn't severe.

People receiving these calls should report them and avoid giving out any information. The military has the individual's personal information on file, so the caller shouldn't ask for it.

"If a family is informed, they would know that the military knows the Social Security number, they know all these other things," says Melnyk.

These bogus phone calls amount to vishing scams, an increasingly prevalent type of phishing scheme done at least partly over the phone.

Vishing scams come in the form of direct phone calls, fraudulent e-mails or text messages directing the recipient to call a specified telephone number in order to respond to an urgent situation. Consumers who call will be prompted to provide sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers or account data.

The American Red Cross sees an uptick in similar schemes every spring and around the holidays, says Media Relations Director Jonathan Aiken.

As for protecting yourself against other vishing scams, never follow the instructions in an unsolicited e-mail, text message or phone call to pay money or give out personal information. Avoid clicking on links or calling phone numbers provided in a message.

When concerned about the legitimacy of a message, call the real company or organization using a verified number, such as the one on a bank statement. Do an Internet search for the name of the company and the word "scam" and you may find scam alerts or message board complaints about the scheme.

Do's and Don'ts

Do's: Don'ts: • Hang up on an unknown caller requesting money or personal information. • Don't give out personal information to an unknown caller. • Report suspicious phone calls. • Don't make a donation in response to an unknown caller. • Visit www.redcross.org to make a donation. • Don't confirm that a family member is deployed.

Where to report a scam: