Published Jul 18, 2026, 3:00 AM EDT
Scammers copied a real VA benefit. Three weeks in, the VA hasn't said where the fake shoe offer sends veterans who respond to it.
A graphic promising veterans free athletic shoes has circulated online since at least mid-June, dressed in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) branding wrapped in the veneer of wellness language. It even carries a working agency phone number. The VA published the image itself, stamped in red with a single word: "scam." "This message is not from VA," the department said in an advisory posted June 17 out of Bedford, Mass., under the byline of public affairs officer Leanna Lynch. Scammers were using the offer to collect personal information, the notice said, warning veterans not to respond, click links or share anything personal. What the advisory did not explain is why the counterfeit works so well. It is because the benefit is actually real.
There's an Actual Benefit Available
The VA issues footwear to certain veterans under certain conditions. Under VHA Directive 1173.9, dated Oct. 22, 2021, updated July 12, 2024, the Veterans Health Administration provides therapeutic footwear and in-shoe orthoses when a clinician determines they are medically necessary. Qualifying conditions include a high foot risk score, amputation, or mismatched sizing after limb loss. Credentialed pedorthists inside the VA's prosthetics service handle the fittings, using their speciality in the foot and lower limb to find suitable footwear. Related programs deepen the impression that shoes are simply out there for the asking. Prevention of Amputation in Veterans Everywhere, VA's program for patients with diabetes or vascular disease, routes at-risk veterans toward protective footwear. A separate annual clothing allowance, authorized under 38 CFR 3.810, pays veterans whose orthopedic devices wear out their clothes. That allowance is frequently mistaken for a shoe voucher. It is nothing of the kind. Every legitimate path does share one distinctive feature. Each begins with a clinician; however, none begins with a flyer. Veterans service officers spotted the distinction early. In Kearney, Neb., the Buffalo County veterans service office pushed a warning through the county sheriff on the same day the VA posted its own. The notice said the message misused the VA name and reminded veterans that medically necessary footwear exists and is obtainable only through a primary care provider. Maryland VA Health Care System circulated the alert on social media. Regional television in Maine picked it up.
