By Center for Personal Finance editors
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is joining forces with the Defense Department and state attorneys general to create the Repeat Offenders Against Military database (ROAM), a system that will track companies and individuals that attempt to defraud current and former servicemembers and military families, reports the Credit Union National Association's News Now.
ROAM, which the CFPB noted is the "first database of its kind," will serve as a "central mechanism for officials to run a quick search for actions taken by various federal, state, and local law enforcers" against financial schemers that target the military.
The system will track companies and individuals that attempt to defraud servicemembers. The database, which will go online in February, will help state and federal agencies "investigate and stop frauds that cross state lines," the CFPB adds. State attorneys general, U.S. attorneys, local law enforcement and other officials, and judge advocates will be able to contribute to and search the database, the agency says.
"As a former Ohio Attorney General, I know how frustrating it is to expose a scam and then see it take root in another state. The ROAM database will help law enforcement crack down on frauds that cross state lines," says CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "ROAM is a huge step forward in our mission to improve consumer protection for the military community."
Holly Petraeus, the CFPB's assistant director for the Office of Servicemember Affairs, adds, "During my visits to military communities across the country, I continue to hear stories of servicemembers and veterans being defrauded by businesses that see our troops as easy targets for a quick profit.
"This database will help law enforcers stop some of the worst offenders—those that have made a practice of targeting our men and women in uniform and our veterans."
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