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Romance Scam

Please report romance scams and dating scams here. We accept reports on Russian scammers and Nigerian scammers.

Disclaimer regarding pictures posted on the board: please understand that you are NOT looking at the pictures of people who are actually scamming you. The people portrayed on these photos are innocent men and women, NOT involved in scamming in any way and have nothing to do with scammers. The scammers are using their images without their knowledge or permission to deceive their victims and steal their money.




Important Facts About American Military

African scammers posing as military personnel.
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Pinky
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Important Facts About American Military

Postby Pinky » Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:37 am

Many thanks to Maj. Chris Haggard, US Army, whose pictures have also been hijacked and much abused by scammers.

A few things things to look for in a military scam:

1. The e-mails are written with improper verb conjugation, improper use of pronouns, improper noun/verb agreement and misspelled words. It is fairly obvious that these e-mails were written by someone who learned English (very poorly learned) as a second language in the British style.

2. Deployed Soldiers are compensated very well with special pays, bonuses and tax exemptions. It is not uncommon for a Soldier of any rank to realize a “third paycheck” when they are deployed. And a Soldier always has access to his/her money in one way or another. How can these scammers have access to the internet to troll dating sites looking for targets but, cannot use the internet to purchase the items they are asking for themselves.

3. Also, in regards to money, there are very few places for a Soldier to spend their money while deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan. A Soldier maybe broke before or after a deployment but, a Soldier is usually pretty flush while deployed. Except, of course, if he spends all his money on the internet.

4. With regards to family emergencies, all Soldiers and family members know to contact the American Red Cross if a deployed Soldier has a family emergency at home. A Red Cross Message is the only way a deployed Soldier will return in cases of a family emergency. The Soldier’s chain of command will get the Soldier home if a valid Red Cross Message is received. The Army will provide transportation from Iraq or Afghanistan to Atlanta or Dallas; from there, the Soldier must provide his/her own transportation (just as if the Solder we not deployed). If the Soldier cannot afford a plane ticket from Atlanta or Dallas to their hometown, the Army Emergency Relief will provide the funds, as a grant or loan, to purchase the ticket. And this will all be coordinated before the Solder leaves his unit; a Soldier will only be stranded if he/she does something stupid.

5. If you are still unsure if you are being scammed, ask the Soldier to send you an e-mail from their AKO account. Only Solders, a very few family members, and certain contractors have @mail.mil (former @us.army.mil) e-mail address. If they refuse, tell them to take a flying leap! If they get angry with you and accuse you of not trusting them, tell them to take a flying leap!

Bottom line, NEVER send a deployed Soldier money or high-dollar value items, especially if it is to be sent to an address anywhere in Africa. All deployed Soldiers have an APO, AE, or APO AP mailing address.
If your question isn't answered in the FAQ, please message a green Moderator or red Admin. We need to know.

Important Facts About American Military

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby Marisa » Thu Oct 25, 2012 12:45 am

more info about military scams here:
http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewto ... 77&t=26802" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
SCAM FREE DATING SITE

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Some helpful "thoughts" from a former military spouse/brat

Postby womensintuitionrules » Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:01 am

I was talking to Frumpy and there are some cues that made me suspect my scammer very early based on my time around the military and my military friends. This is just from a dating perspective and some others here who are actually military members may wish to add to/expand on these thoughts - but here are some "tips" and/or warning signs:
1) If someone is still AD (Active Duty) at 48, they are either a) an officer, b) they entered the military late or c) they spent part of their career as NG or Reserves. Otherwise, they are lying.

2) if someone is 48 (enlisted) and has 20 years and they are only an E5 (especially in the Army) either a) they spent all of their time in trouble, b) they are lying. The Army picks up rank faster than any service branch and if they are at the 20 year mark they should be AT LEAST an E7.

3) If someone is saying they are an officer and typing crappy emails like I got (bad English/grammar) - RUN - officers are highly educated people.

There are a couple ways to check them out if you have their "home of record", branch of service and rank - military.com has a "buddy finder" and while people can ask to be "hidden" 95% of the service members aren't. The rank may be out of date if they had a recent promotion, but not too out of date. It's free to register for military.com and it can be a good place to do a little digging. Though if someone is using a common name, it can be more difficult - and if the scammers are using that, well, doesn't help much.
"The trick in life isn't getting what you want, it's wanting it after you get it" ~Katherine Hepburn in "Love Affair"

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New to this site.

Postby shelllynn68 » Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:01 pm

I recently joined a dating site and I was shockes to find so many men who I knew to be scammers, which led me to join this site which Im grateful to have found. I think what shocked me most was to see so many scammers using photos of military personnel to scam people. My son is actually a Marine ( proud mommy here) I know that for the most part we all have heard of scammers asking us to request leave for them and pay a fee, send money thru a special agent or a care package usually containing expensive items etc.... but I would like to add a few other tips maybe most already know, maybe some dont just trying to help. These are things I know from my son, Military I.D.s look more like a mug shot not a handsome face, they are face shots and the person in the id will probably have very little or no facial hair. Military members have restrictions on tatoos so if you see a pic of someone with tats on the hands, neck, or lower arms claiming to be currently in the military he's probably a fake. If he says he's on a undercover secret mission he's fake a real soldier would never reveal this to you. If he has a pic of himself in full combat gear in the desert or in a location he cannot reveal to you and he's squeky clean from his head to his shining black boots uh!! well he's probably not in the desert. If he can't give you his military e-mail address then he's fake every military member has one, or If he can't tell you his mos he's fake. Every active Military member has a home base In the U.S. so if he can't tell you his he's fake. I had one guy claim to be stationed at the same base my son is and he still tried to scam me into sending him a care package thru a special agent of course lol....I hope maybe I said something that will help someone else....

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby Igulinka » Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:58 am

shelllynn68

Welcome to RS and thank you so much for the post. The details you reported for sure will help the ladies not to fall into the traps of military impostors.

Don't you wish all scammers got mandatory command to serve at the front lines of Afghanistan or Iraq. That would me nice to see them get what they wish for.
Confronting the scammer is WRONG!!! DON'T enlighten criminals with your wisdom. REPORT & BLOCK.
PHOTO VICTIM - "Do not confront the owner of the pictures, as they are victims themselves! You will only serve to further the terror and harm !" Silence Is Golden!!! I speak Polish.

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby shelllynn68 » Fri Feb 12, 2016 9:08 am

Yes it would be great if these scammers had to go thru some of the hardships our services memebers go thru. I would also so like to add several years ago when my son graduated boot camp at Paris Island we went on base the day before graduation along with thousands of other families for family day and then graduation the next day. Point being thousands of people snapping photos of military personnel, even some still training so it's very easy for scammers to get photos of military members.I also purchased a book kinda like a school yearbook of his basic training and dvd of graduation, over 500 other Marines went thru basic and graduation at the same time he did photos of military members are easy to get hold of ,so if you think he's a scammer ask for some photos of him in civilian clothes if he says he doesn't have any if he's on the ineternet or textin he can get some...lol

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby mariko » Wed Jun 22, 2016 3:09 am

I need direct feed back from military personnel (including retired) or their family member.

I have suggested a victim to call her local US army camp and ask whether what she has experienced are true with US military or not, because she still want to believe her fake soldier.

It was typical military leave scam.

1) The soldier said his credit card or ATM card can't be used in Egypt where he claims to be deployed, so asked victim to send him 1100USD via Western Union. The camp she called said that it is rare but could be happen that credit cards and ATM cards can't be used at the sites soldiers are deployed. How true is that???

2) The army official asked her to pay 2500USD for his coverage officer while the fake soldier is on vacation to meet the victim. Again, the base she called said it could be rare but possibly happen. Sure???


3) The Army Official asked victim to pay 3500USD for insurance to let the soldier travel safely and the fees are to be returned when the soldier arrives to the victim's country. The base she called said it is rare but could happen that a family member might be asked to pay for insurance.

I really doubt the base phone operator's knowledge about military. Could be a local phone operator who speaks English and local language but not familiar with the organization.

Original topic is here.
http://romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=99917

I suggested the victim to join here and discuss directly with people familiar to military. But she says she does not understand English well, and do not know how to register here.

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby ghannett » Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:52 pm

Many of you know me. Scammers have been using my photos for years and I've posted here several times. I'm an active-duty American Army officer - stationed at an Air Force Base on the East Coast. In any case, I'll try to answer the questions posed.

1. At any given time, there are about 700 American military personnel deployed to Egypt - almost all of them in the Sinai Peninsula. These days, when American soldiers deploy, they are issued an Eagle Cash card which is linked to their bank accounts. The cards work much like ATM cards. Every U.S. Army finance office has an Eagle Cash Card terminal - as do most of the PXs (Post Exchanges). Bottom line - soldiers ALWAYS have access to their military pay. If they can't get cash from their ATM card or Eagle Cash card, they can get a cash advance from the finance office. If a soldier complains about pay problems and his leaders don't fix the problem quickly, the leaders can get into trouble. Finally, soldiers deployed overseas have VERY little use for cash. All of their meals are provided by the military for FREE. Housing and nearly every other expense is taken care of for them. And they can often find personal hygiene items for free at the USO or in care packages sent to troops.

2. "Coverage officer" is a term created by scammers. When soldiers go on leave (vacation), the folks who remain behind will divide up his or her duties. No one would EVER be paid extra to "cover" another soldier.

3. The U.S. military does not provide "travel insurance." Obviously, there is no travel insurance fee.

4. I've been in the U.S. Army for almost 32 years. I can tell you that soldiers do not pay fees to the government when they go on leave. Depending on where they are stationed, they may have to pay for their own airfare, but that's between the soldier and the airline he choses. I often suggest that people call or visit a military recruiting office if they have questions about how the military works. Thanks to the prevalence of romance scams, recruiters have gotten used to fielding these questions.

Good luck!

- Gordon

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby mariko » Tue Jun 28, 2016 1:41 pm

Hi Gordon, thank you very much. Comment from person like you was what I really wanted, especially for the victim I was talking to. In fact she mentioned in her last email that she decided not to contact with the scammer any more. Hopefully she is now convinced that her boy friend was fake because whatever he or the fake military requested never happens with real US military.

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby Hsc1123 » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:51 am

So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone posting advice I met one of these men online already. I didn't find you guys until I had already sent money via western union. When I didn't hear back from him I started Google if any kind of scams were going on and found this site. Everything he was saying was on here. I finally heard from him saying that western union wouldn't let him pick it up. So I called them and they stopped to transfer themselves and gave the money back to me. I told him that they wouldn't allow the money to be sent to Nigeria. So he told me to try money gram but at this point I had read all of this and just made up an excuse about a sudden bill coming up and needed the money. Anyways if I hadn't come across this sight I would have never have know and probably would have went to money gram so thank you everyone and western union. I got my money back stopped answering him and I just ended up with a very hurt heart.

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby Dialogue » Tue Nov 01, 2016 2:54 am

Hello, I'm new to this forum and I was frauded by someone who claimed he was stationed in turkey. Met him out of the blue on this site called badoo.com and it was a normal conversation for almost a month until bout 2 weeks ago he first asked me for 76 bucks to call his son because he was sick. Told him I had no money but later that week he asked if he could transfer money into my account of 5,000 bucks so that way he can receive the money and use it. I hesitated and said no but ofcourse I was stupid enough to help him and gave him my information. Basically today I had to change all my personal info, new phone number because he called me numerous times and in two different numbers which one was from Nigeria.

My bank account was closed down I can no longer use their bank because of the fraud check. Fraudster got upset because I never trusted him and yet I tried to help him. Also got mad because I changed all my info and even threatened me saying that his commander has my SSN. I got scared and just stopped talking to him period. He even said that I was lying that I took his money and that he can lose his job.

I read here bout all the signs and everything was so accurate, I wished I had not done what I did but it already happened. I'm glad I found this site because it has helped me to read others testimonies and what they have gone through. So I feel not alone in this situation. Sorry for the long post but needed to share this.

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby FrumpyBB » Tue Nov 01, 2016 11:34 am

You are very welcome to share :) Please post the numbers and the photos "he" used, so that I can split it into the topic it belongs :)
Please try your best to block ALL your scammer´s still incoming messages and calls!

What is all this? => The FAQ

The scammers vs. Why is "he" still doing it?

Why is alerting the man in the pictures DANGEROUS?

Please click why confronting my scammer is terribly wrong :)

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby UltraMroon1 » Fri Sep 22, 2017 10:11 pm

To those with actual military experience, is it customary for soldiers to have not only the time, but the access to be trolling internet dating sites from Afghanistan or Iraq or even Syria? I had someone approach me stating they were "on a peace-keeping mission in Syria". I dumped the message because if he's trying to keep the peace in Syria, I'd venture to guess he's doing a miserable job. Can military and/or contractors actually get internet access and would they have the time or ability to access a dating site where they claim to be? Thanks in advance :)

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Re: Important Facts About American Military

Postby Igulinka » Sat Sep 23, 2017 3:49 am

Please do not believe anyone who claims to be in military, especially on deployment and yet in the war zones.
Military men and women don't have access to phones or internet everyday and for hours.
Scammer hidden behind a military photo is in West Africa; NOT in Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria in a war zone making phone calls, skyping, using the internet for pleasure. There is no time for that, especially when out on patrol. To use a phone while out in the field will expose the platoon to enemy ambush. And it will cause a court martial for the soldier using a cellphone while out in the field of gunfire.

For more info see : http://www.cid.army.mil/report-a-crime.html
Confronting the scammer is WRONG!!! DON'T enlighten criminals with your wisdom. REPORT & BLOCK.
PHOTO VICTIM - "Do not confront the owner of the pictures, as they are victims themselves! You will only serve to further the terror and harm !" Silence Is Golden!!! I speak Polish.

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Re: New to this site.

Postby Dlmagoo » Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:55 am

I recently joined a dating site and I was shockes to find so many men who I knew to be scammers, which led me to join this site which Im grateful to have found. I think what shocked me most was to see so many scammers using photos of military personnel to scam people. My son is actually a Marine ( proud mommy here) I know that for the most part we all have heard of scammers asking us to request leave for them and pay a fee, send money thru a special agent or a care package usually containing expensive items etc.... but I would like to add a few other tips maybe most already know, maybe some dont just trying to help. These are things I know from my son, Military I.D.s look more like a mug shot not a handsome face, they are face shots and the person in the id will probably have very little or no facial hair. Military members have restrictions on tatoos so if you see a pic of someone with tats on the hands, neck, or lower arms claiming to be currently in the military he's probably a fake. If he says he's on a undercover secret mission he's fake a real soldier would never reveal this to you. If he has a pic of himself in full combat gear in the desert or in a location he cannot reveal to you and he's squeky clean from his head to his shining black boots uh!! well he's probably not in the desert. If he can't give you his military e-mail address then he's fake every military member has one, or If he can't tell you his mos he's fake. Every active Military member has a home base In the U.S. so if he can't tell you his he's fake. I had one guy claim to be stationed at the same base my son is and he still tried to scam me into sending him a care package thru a special agent of course lol....I hope maybe I said something that will help someone else....
Also, look st the language they use. I live the next town over from a major military base. I have had people talk to me that list that city as their home. When asked what their MOS is, they give a fairly decent answer, but not the correct wording for it. For instance they give you the correct code for the MOS (11 bravo) vs saying infantry (just a random example). Also being that I live so close to this base, if you ask what they do the response is usually “I work for the United States Army” and that they are stationed at (the base) but are currently in (some country Afghanistan,Syria) on a peace keeping mission (that’s the new current favorite job), and they are retiring in a few weeks. NO real soldier would say they work for the United States Army.. it’s usually just Army. Abviously if you say you’re at the base, obviously you are Army. Another flag is that they don’t know my town. If you’re stationed at a base, you know the next city over for sure. I had someone message me on FB and tell me that they were a pilot and an instructor. I asked them their rank, expecting some CWO or officer rank, guy said he was an E5. Major NO, unless he was busted down A LOT. FYI officers are never busted to an enlisted rank. 2LT is the lowest they can go.

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