WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department warns of a new scam that targets spouses of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The American Red Cross has received at least one complaint of someone purporting to be a Red Cross representative. The caller, a woman, told a military wife that her husband had been injured and evacuated to Germany for treatment. She said the hospital there needed her husband's date of birth and Social Security number.

"We know that it happened to one person; it was probably going to happen to others, and we wanted to be prudent and alert people," said Devorah Goldburg, a Red Cross representative.

The Red Cross said it almost never gets in touch with military families directly, usually going through a senior officer or sergeant. The organization also does not notify families of service injuries or deaths.

The Defense Department said family members should never give out personal information over the phone to people they do not know. Anyone who receives calls purporting to be from the Red Cross should report it.

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