Thieves are targeting the families of soldiers all over the country by lying about casualties of war.

The scam involves thieves calling families of military personnel deployed overseas and claiming to be with the American Red Cross. Thieves reportedly tell the family members their loved one has been injured overseas.

The scammers then ask for the soldier's personal information in order to complete the paperwork needed for medical treatment.

Red Cross representatives say the agency never calls families asking for personal information. It also does not inform families of injuries or deaths.

"If anybody does come to you and asks you questions that seem strange or suspicious, you don't want to give away any of your personal information," said Katherine Boury with the Red Cross. "You want to call your local Red Cross and say, 'this doesn't seem right.'"

Boury says similar scams have surfaced in the past during natural disasters or a national crisis.

"Hurricane Katrina, September 11th. There are sometimes going to be people that misrepresent the Red Cross, and so we take that very seriously," she said.

A Fort Lewis spokesperson said that soldiers and their families are briefed on what to expect in the event of an emergency call. If a soldier is injured or killed, family members should expect a personal knock on the door or a direct call from a member of the overseas unit.

"We're out here serving our country," said soldier Blake Draheim. "Why try to steal our identity? We're out here fighting for you. Our Social Security number that we have is our paycheck, everything. It's our whole career and without that, we're in trouble."