Court warns veterans about scam from callers claiming to be 3M settlement administrators

Kilat Fitzgerald KSTP

An order from the court overseeing the litigation of defective 3M earplugs by U.S. Army veterans is warning that bad actors are posing as settlement administrators to garner personal information.

The order also states that the FBI is aware of the attempted fraud/identity theft and that claimants must be aware to protect their personal information.

The company handling the claims, Archer Systems LLC, had its number posted online, which is allowing scammers to disguise their caller ID, according to the court filing.

Authorities are adding that Archer is not contacting claimants unsolicited but is only reaching out to claimants who submitted an inquiry to Archer.

Archer will also not use auto caller bots or ask for a full Social Security number, and the company will only ask for the last four digits of a Social Security number if multiple claimants have the same name and birthdate.

Anyone who does receive an unsolicited call should hang up and notify their counsel and also not return the call if they received a voicemail.

If contacted by email, claimants should not respond and instead forward it to their counsel.

Court documents say the attempts at fraud appear to have begun after settlement program information was shared on Reddit before it was captured and manipulated by bad actors.

Claimants are also advised to be cautious about the information they share online about the settlement, their individual claims and their own identities.

Related coverage on the 3M earplug lawsuit can be found below:

Minnesota veterans blame 3M’s ‘defective’ ear plugs for hearing damage

3M CEO to appear at mediation session over claims of defective earplugs Thursday, Friday

Federal judge dismisses 3M’s attempt to settle defective earplug claims in bankruptcy

3M to establish $1B trust for legal claims over ‘defective’ combat earplugs

3M to pay $2.2M in latest ‘defective’ earplugs lawsuit