Anatomy of a Military Dating Scam
January 15th, 2010 by CJ
We've been getting a LOT of emails and comments here on the blog from women around the world (mainly in English speaking nations) that have fallen for scams that use names and likenesses of military members to lure their prey. I'd like to take a moment to detail these scams. This is an extension of other posts I've written on the subject HERE and HERE.
It's clear in reading these emails and comments that a lot of people just don't understand the military that well and how it works on a personnel level. I don't think anyone would disagree with me that we have some morons that wear the uniform, but even morons could write better than the bozos perpetrating these scams from across the pond.
These guys have all the time in the world to convince you that they love you (and I say "guys" generically, because there are scammers posing as female servicemembers too). They takes weeks and months saying all the right things and using stories that will tug on your heart strings. They are typically widowers with young children left behind. They are or are about to be deployed. These deployments are generally of short length, 1-3 months, so as to have as many reasons as possible to bilk money from you. And, most of them are near retirement. None of them use .mil email addresses that ALL military personnel have. These are just some of the tipoffs you should be aware of.
They use sites like 101date.com, match.com, MyYearbook.com, OKCupid, Friends Reunited Dating, and others. They use military ranks and names, most of the time made up but occasionally real troops. They get the photos from internet trolling and other profiles on the dating sites. Blogs, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites are prime real estate for those seeking photos of military members.
I won't use the name of the readers that sent their stories, but think that telling them will serve to protect women in the future and show how these guys work. Nearly all of them are located in Africa. Some use IP anonymizers to hide their true location and make it more believable by creating fake IPs in the U.S. Before I begin to dissect these scams, I want the people who fell for it to understand they don't need to feel embarrassed. By sharing this information, others will not fall for it.
Sgt. Kella sent his first email to me through the dating site OKCupid at the end of August. He told me he was stationed at Camp Lejeune in NC, but lived in Beeville, TX when not on base. His wife died in a car accident 5 years ago and has an 18 year old son. He told me as a teenager, he lived in London with his uncle. He gave me the address as 118 Piccadilly. His son would go and stay with his uncle whenever he was at Camp Lejeune.
I talked a little about this on the You Served Radio Show this week. How many Marines (or other military people for that matter) do you know that commute over 1400 miles to work? That's how far it is from Beeville to Camp Lejeune. Even a National Guard or Reservist Soldier wouldn't make that commute once a month. The pay is nowhere near worth it. Then, he says that his son went to live with an uncle in the UK while he was at Lejeune?! Wow. You'll find that a lot of these scams may also use the UK as part of the scam. They think that if we hear the UK, we're more likely to believe it than if they tell the truth they're writing from Nigeria or some other impoverished African nation. As you can see, the standard "my wife died in a tragic accident and we have a small child" bit is played here.
He also told me he was to retire from the Marines in December and was ready to start a new life. After about 2 weeks of exchanging emails and chatting on yahoo, he told me they wanted to send some marines to Afghanistan and would know if his name was on the list by the end of that week. Well, his name was on the list and he then told me that he would be leaving the following Monday night. When he got "there", he told me he was at the base camp in Kabul and would be going out to field in a few days and would not have internet access.
There are many variations out there, but this one seems an attempt to legitimize their military affiliation. Many of them are already in theater when the scam begins. Once contact is made, they are miraculously going to be shipped to a remote outpost with no internet access, phones, toilets, or even sunlight! It doesn't exist out there. THe mission is so top secret, even they don't know where they're going. But, once they get there, they realize that there is ONE way that the nomads have found to tap into the rocks and dirt to extract internet access:
He got information from his "colleagues" that most marines used amilitary@usa.com as the means to communicate with people back home. He said he would go to field with a pam top but needed a pin code to communicate. I was to get in touch with this agency and apply for a code. When I told him that it would cost $250, he made it sound like he didn't know you had to pay for the service. I sent the money, but he said the code was not activated and was afraid it would not work before he left. At the time, I was having problems with my yahoo mail going through, so it seemed legit that this was happening. I resent the email through another email account, and after he left, he sent an email saying that the code was finally activated. About a week later, he said the connection was bad and could I help him get a better connection by subscribing to http://pps.nntime.com/signup to change the IP address.
As if changing the IP address will make the connection better somehow! [rolls eyes] nntime.com is an internet anonymous proxy service that is based out of Russia. There are no standards for hosting a "proxy" on the server which is why the scammers are able to use this service. There are literally hundreds used on the site. Some are used simply by people wanting to hide their true origin, which is why some of the email IPs you see appear to come from places like Atlanta or El Segundo. Most Marines use military connections to access the internet, though I think some of the more established camps in big cities of Iraq may be contracted out.
One of the other things you'll start to notice if you're playing into the scam is that the scammers will be accident prone and procrastinate a lot. All kinds of misfortunes will befall them as they attempt to suck more and more money out of you. Sometimes they ask for hundreds at a time and sometimes just a few dollars.
It was $10, so I did that. He was only to be in Afghan for 1 month and after about 2 weeks there, he told me it seemed that they were going to make them stay longer and wanted me to help him apply for his retirement account and to request leave since he was retiring. He told me he would then be home in 7 days. I sent an email the the military agency requesting this information. They wanted $450 to open up the retirement account and wanted to know that if he was cleared to leave, would he wait for home flight or did we want the agency to arrange the flight home. The flight home was a month away, so we said to let them arrange it. That was when I found out I would have to pay for the flight. Sgt. Kella kept telling me that as soon as he was home, he would pay me back for all of this help I was giving him.
Here's where us military people really start shouting at the computer screen. No one "applies" for a retirement account in the military. And we sure as heck don't need civilians to help us with getting our retirement checks. Funny how the scammer never identifies this "military agency" that supposedly handles retirement accounts. I think we call it the VA! The email address was to a .com email and not a .mil or .gov, which is where any official emails to a government agency will be sent.
Folks, the military pays for flights home, even when there is a family emergency. Do NOT pay for a flight home. At the most, a Soldier will be able to get stateside before needing help, if any. Of course, a scammer will never pay the money back, because he'll never be "home."
Well, I couldn't afford the whole amount, so he had a "friend", an Andrew Grant (whose email address ends with uk-andrew.grant27@yahoo.co.uk), help pay for part of it. By the time we got the money together, he supposedly missed the first flight on Oct. 15th and would then come home on the 26th. Around the 18th of October, while chatting, Sgt. Kella was telling me if I didn't hear from him in a few days, he had added my name to the list of people that could get information from the military agency to let me how he was. After a few day, I wrote to them and they told me he was on a special assignment but would be back to his base to make his flight home on the 26th. Around the 24th, I got an email with the flight information for his connecting flight from Kabul to Dubai. With that email they told me they still had not received any word on Sgt. Kella, only that they knew he was alive. On the 26th, I got an email saying he had been injured and he was being sent to Dubai to the American Hospital there for further treatment. After a couple of days, I got an email from Sgt. Kella saying he had been on an assignment with 8 other marines and that a bomb went off injuring his left leg. He was to have surgery on it in Dubai.
Here's another tip for the non-military types: when Soldiers are injured in combat, they are NOT taken to Dubai. Once they are stabilized, they are taken to Germany. Most Soldiers also don't leave the theater of operations by way of Dubai. Now, you're going to start seeing a lot of stuff going wrong here on "SGT Kella's" trip back. Why? Because he doesn't exist and isn't on the way back. So, they invent all these different "problems" that will surface which delay the homecoming. After feeling like they've milked it for all they can – or until the scam is realized – they'll simply stop responding. Or, they'll fake their own "death" and make you feel really bad. Someone from the family will contact you for help with the funeral. Let's continue…
Well, they were finally getting ready to release him from the hospital for his return flight home to the states, but we had to pay for his medical bill. I asked didn't the military take care of that and he told me he had medical allowance, and would be reimbursed from that account. After getting his medical bill and new flight information taken care of, I get an email on the day he was to fly out that he had fallen and reinjured his leg. This was Nov. 10th. We go through about 2 weeks of his staying in the "hospital" going through therapy. During this time, the retirement account comes up in an email from the agency. They needed the information that was given to me back when I opened up the account at the beginning of Oct. I told them that I had never received any account information, that I thought it was sent to Sgt. Kella. I found out the account was never opened and they wanted me to open an etrade account to put his retirement benefits and benefits of services money into. Sgt. Kella told me that his "boss" said that an Ally account would be good to have too, so I opened one. The Ally account was trying to be accessed by an outside bank and was closed by ally. While talking to them, this was when I started thinking that some of this might have been part of a scam. I assumed it was with the military agency and not Sgt. Kella. In the meantime, we asked that the $450 that was sent to open up the account be sent to Sgt. Kella for traveling money. The agency did that, so I'm thinking how many scammers would send my money on my request (never dawned on me that they were all working together!)
Thankfully, the Ally people noticed the scam, but for some reason the individual kept in contact. There's a part of this scam that is alarming and begins to lend a false sense of credibility to it. The scammers use other susceptible people within many different to unsuspectingly help them. Soldiers do not need help opening retirement accounts. As a matter of fact, it's a rare troop that doesn't already have one by the time they decide to make it a career. Many of us use the military's Thrift Savings Plan to stash away money for retirement as well as Roth IRAs and other investments. We definitely don't need complete strangers (or even our friends) doing it for us. The most simple advice is that is a troop asks you for money for ANYTHING, dump 'em! They're either scammers or freeloading good-for-nothings! Now here is where the water gets muddied through unwitting participants.
Anyway, Sgt. Kella had a friend who had just come back from over seas and was going to help us find out who hacked into the account. I actually talked to him on the phone. He had an accent and when I questioned Sgt. Kella on this he told me he was Latino. I know it was not that kind of an accent, so that raised some questions on my side. This "Michael Williams" was from San Antonio, TX and that is where the call originated from. The number was (210) 591-8707. This person said they would help get Sgt. Kella home for me, as well. Sgt. Kella got extremely upset by still being in the hospital and demanded that he be released. This was the first of December. When they agreed to release him, the bill was outrageous. His friend from San Antonio said he would pay for it, but ended up not being able to pay the full amount. By this time, I was having doubts and told Sgt. Kella I couldn't send any more money. I held out for a little bit. He knew exactly what to say.
If the phone number is real and "Michael Williams" is located in San Antonio, he is most likely and unwitting participant being scammed as well. He helps facilitate transactions without realizing he/she is being used. It's usually elderly men and women that are used to assist in these types of scams. As the scam progresses, they'll begin tying multiple people into the scam. That is usually when it begins to fall apart because Americans tend to be smarter than the average…Nigerian.
At this point, our reader is starting to catch on. But, the scammers know exactly what to say when it looks like they're losing their prey.
When the agency wanted to add $100 for changing his flight information, I reminded them of something they had said in an email and they made someone else pay the $100. Once the bill and flight were taken care of, he was moved to a "guest house" of the hospitals on a Friday waiting for the flight home on Sunday, December 13th. We sent the money on a Friday and then got word over the weekend that the accounting department of the hospital was not open and this delayed Sgt. Kella's return home on the 13th. They set up another flight for the following Wednesday, but I later found out it was delayed because of bad weather. I looked on the internet, but couldn't see anything that would delay flights for him. By this time, Sgt. Kella was getting very upset with all of the delays. His doctor was supposedly helping him get home as well. They went to the airport where I got an email from Sgt. Kella that they (the doctor and Kella) were trying to change his flight over to British Airways because that was the only airline flying out. It took a few days for the agency to transfer the flight from Delta to British Airways. On the 17th of December, I got an email from the agency saying they got the money transferred and he would be flying to London. On the 21st, they needed money to then fly him from London to the US. He then supposedly flew to the UK on the 21st. There was a delay there because the agency told me that the British Airways strike delayed him and he would be able to fly home on the 27th. I immediately wrote them and told them that the strike never happened. (now I was really suspicious) After that, I got very few emails from them (hence my thinking that it was the agency doing the scamming). They did tell me that they put him in a hotel until his met his flight to the US. For a few days, I didn't hear from anyone. I knew he told me his son and uncle were in London, so I sent an email to Sgt. Kella saying he should meet up with them, but he didn't want to at first because his son would want to come home with him and he wanted his son to come home a little later on so we could spend time together. After Christmas, he finally went to his uncle's house. He asked if I could possibly help get him home and I told him I had no more money to send. The agency still had about $1000 that was not used for his return flight from London to the US. He said he was told by the hotel, the agency was having trouble and he didn't want to deal with them any longer.
Keep in mind that this is only one incident. Not all of them are alike, but by reading this you will understand the basics of how they operate. They all have the same template, just different stories and minor differences. Okay, last part of this email:
He went to the base there in London and talked to the commanding officer about a return flight home but they didn't have any in the next few days. He also told me he wrote an email to his commanding officer complaining about this agency. His uncle knew someone here in the US and called her and she said she could get him a ticket, but needed money. I was told she worked for some airline. We wrote the agency one more time about transferring the money to her, but that was the last I heard from them. Sgt. Kella told me he was not going to go through the agency anymore, and that when he was back in the states he was going to take care of getting any money back plus have them pay for "damages" done. With all of these delays, this was when I finally went with my gut feeling and started researching dating scams. As you can see, a lot falls under a scam. But he is smooth. When we are chatting, I can bring up a topic that he couldn't possibly have time to get his facts straight on, and then I think that he isn't involved in any of this. I did do an IP address check on the amilitary@usa.com, and it came up out of the UK. The website that was sending this, or was a part of this, was connected with some fraudulent dealings. Sgt. Kella did tell me a few days ago that he was to be home soon-that his uncle's friend would have the money on Tuesday. He is still communicating with me even though he knows I am not sending any more money. He is now telling me his uncle is sick and having to take him to the hospital and all. Another delay…
Again, as a Soldier, I can pinpoint all the absurdities of this, but your average non-military civilian may not bat an eye. He went to a base in LONDON and talked to his commanding officer? I thought his commanding officer was at Camp Lejeune (or in Afghanistan)!! We don't have bases in the UK. Notice more tragedy in the family – another heart wrenching story to suck more money out of the victim.
This entire post can be summed up easily: if they ask for money, dump them!! They're losers. Troops are independent and able to take care of themselves. Even privates make plenty of money to subsist upon, but definitely troops retiring are self-sufficient.
Here's what the email looks like from the "Military Communication Service" that doesn't exist and wasn't sent from a military email domain (amilitary@usa.com):
The military communication service offers a reliable and efficient means of communication in the military.
For more than 75 years, we have been a leading manufacturer of dependable, top-of-the-line communication equipment.
More than 70 percent of commercial airline pilots count on our headsets during flight. Emergency dispatchers use our radio dispatch systems to manage clear communications.Our revolutionary talking book players help people with blindness or learning disabilities enjoy reading. Our antenna code keep troops connected on the ground and in the air.
HOW TO USE THE ANTENNA CODE With our Antenna code and wireless headsets, you can connect to any Military HB in the world to stay in touch with troops.
All you need is Subscribe for an Antenna code and an activation code by applying and providing us with the following informations
1. Your Full Name
2. Your Address
3. Your Telephone Number
4. Full Name and ID Of The Officer You Want To Connect
5.The Department Of The Officer
6.The Base Name Of The OfficerIf you get Approved , you will have to pay the sum of 250 usd for the connection.This Amount covers the approval fee, connection and activation.
As soon as payment is made you will be given an Antenna code number from us which you need to send to the officer, He should use the code any time he want to connect to internet no matter any location in the world and follow the instruction .You will be put through withing few seconds.
Lt. John Gerard
Military Communication Service(MCS)
For the record, there is no such person as a Lt. John Gerard.
Tags: military communication service, military dating scam, military telex
Posted in Military Perspective, Nigerian Scammers
As CJ says, IF they're asking for money, then they're NOT legit. If they're NOT using a .mil or .gov email address, yet claim they're a Soldier then they're probably NOT legit. If you're not sure, please forward the email on to someone who can verify if they're legit. Since I do have an AKO email address, I always check to see if they're listed and so far, none of them have been. It's better to be safe than sorry and be taken advantage of by these creeps. ALWAYS check with someone and verify what they're saying.
I've had a few of these people 'claiming' to be Servicemembers contact me through my yahoo email. Of course, having worked for the Army, I know it's a bunch of bull and will usually use the David Sneakers example and play along with them for a bit, OR I'll email back telling them that I know they're just scammers because I worked for the Army and their information is not legit. Either way, I've had a bit of fun messing with them.
A few comments on this…you knew I would..lol
1) Picadilly in London is some of the most expensive real estate and I doubt any could afford it..Just sayin'…
2) In my more limited experience, some troops do use private gmail accounts.
3) There is a scammer using the name Perry Johnson who wrote to me a long time back with some 'offer'. No, not through any dating site.
I did not reply, but did post his entire email under the header "Sgt Perry Johnson is a fraud…" Just about every week someone googles that name and finds my post, so I know he is still scamming.
As you and Terri say, ANY soldier who asks for money is a scammer. If they are an actual troop in the sandbox for example, legitimately in need, there are resources for them that require NO outside money from you.
In my limited experience, again, no soldier I have ever met has asked for money. To a real soldier, that is being dishonourable (or something.lol)
One of the first scam emails I got – think it was to do with some "soldier" who had discovered some gold in Iraq that he needed help financially getting out – I reported to an officer I knew who looked into it. As we all know, taking ANYTHING out of a war zone is illegal..
Like you, Terri, sometimes I mess with them if I am in the mood, but most times I just delete them.
AND I avoid dating sites..In fact I am totally ignorant about them.
But yes, even I know that wounded go through Landstuhl…lol
Fact is, there will always be scammers, and yes, I have had some with .ru addys which is a dead giveaway..
One point I wonder? There may be no US bases in London, but I remember US bases in England when I was there.
Keep up the good work, CJ!
If anyone is ever in any doubt as to the legitimacy of any supposed military person, there ARE ways to have them verified. ANY military base throughout the US would no doubt be happy check on any of these jerks' claims, since it casts a bad light on all the other GOOD guys..
Keep up the good work, CJ!
Brat, most Soldiers actually DON'T use their .mil emails for normal correspondence. What I'm stating is that every military member has a .mil email and if anyone is in doubt about the legitimacy of a supposed troop, just ask them to send an email from their .mil account to prove who they are. Then they can go back to using the gmail, yahoo, or whatever.
Good point! Hadn't thought of that one….;)
Happens alot outside the military too.
And I could easily fake a .mil address. Would take me about 3 minutes.
One tip we give out is to take elements of the description of the service that the serviceman purpots to give. Put it into inverted commas and place into google search. Scammers usually just take details from existing servicemen and you can find this info on here.
Thanks for the info CJ… I have been "passionately loved" by Col Billy Don Farris for a grand total of 8 days now, (!) and little things that I put out there just didnt seem to add up. Broken English (for crying out loud, this guy was born in Dallas!!!), flowery claims of love (I mean this guy is a Colonel? I would have thought he had more smarts than that! Lonely as it is out there in Afghanistan!!!) and missing photos of his daughters… Some devoted Dad in a warzone! He couldnt tell me anything more about his children (whom he supposedly is devoted to) other than their favourite color…
So who can I contact? Who can I report this to? I would also like to let this gentleman know what is being done with his good name.
Thanks…
Ally, the interesting thing about Billy Don Farris is that he is a real person, but is married and doesn't troll internet dating sites. The REAL Colonel Farris is a great leader and articulate man; polar opposites from the "Col Farris" contacting women to scam them.
Hey Ally,
He got me too. Divorced 3 years, older adopted son who works for Shell Petroleum, he got custody of the 3 younger children. You obviously know the rest. I got pics of the boys but none of the girls. You were "passionately loved", I was "prayed for" and he is my "King". I have found out how to contact the real Colonel Billy D Farris and intend to send him a letter so he can be made aware of what is going on and possibly stop this scamming. On a personal note, I just cant believe where my brain was over the past 3 weeks. I hope Karma gets this scammer. Good Luck Girl. Kate
Hello Kate,
I have been recently scammed by a "Sgt. Bill Johnson". In fact, he is still trying to contact me by phone. Funny thing is, he has a strong African accent!!!!!! His scam was that he is in Afghanistan on a secret mission so had no access to money so could I please send an ipod touch to his adopted african son who was in a boys school in africa while he was on duty. The next story was that he helped an afghani woman who was attacked by a suicide bomber and he looked after her while she was in the hospital and kept her safe there! When she recovered she introduced him to her very rich oil company owner husband. "Bill" then helped this husband truck 8 million dollars worth of oil over the saudi border and his cut was 4 million but he needed to keep it safe till he got home in 2 months! Guess where the safe place is…..ME!!!! Oh but when the diplomat who was personally bringing the money to me got stranded in Ghana, he needed $2500 to pay off the customs officer there at the airport. He has sent me many pictures of this army officer, in and out of uniform. When I started really questioning him, he even sent me a picture of this officers passport. I would really like to find the "real" officer and let him know what is being done with his identity. You say that you have found out how to contact your real Colonel…would you please e-mail me back and tell me how to do the same? I have tried to google his name the scammer gave me and also the name on the passport which is a different name but to no avail. Thank you for your time and I anxiously await your reply.
Marcia
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by sldrperspective: New blog post: Anatomy of a Military Dating Scam soldierspersp...dating-scam/...
I have had a us army ssg by the name of Richard Miller who is supposedly in Irag, sent photos and all contact me wanting me to take posession of a parcel from iraq and keep it for him till he comes to pick it up. I live in Australia. I didnt give him the info he wanted. would like to know how to contact the real SSG Richard Miller to let him know what is going on, any one help,
I have been e-dated and loved now for 6 weeks by a Major Henry Weightman. Two lovely photos of a tall greying man in his 50s was sent to me and in both he is wearing the uniform of a major in the US army. Two nights ago he woke me in my sleep to discuss something important. The important thing was that he was being given USD$4m by a Saudi oil millionaire with whom he had become friendly after having rescued his wife from a terrorist blast in Iraq. I was asked for my telephone and address and full name – 2 of which he already had. That was what really made me suspicious, as well as the package he wanted me to received, that was apparantely to be delivered to me via a UN diplomat – the second red flag to go off in my had. I live in Australia and ofcourse would not give my address. He became very angry with me and almost abusive and has been ringing me repeatedly ever since. I have reported this incident to the military attache in Canberra's US Embassy. If anyone is interested in seeing photos of Major Henry Weightman please let me know how you can be contacted. We might find that we have been romanced by the same Nigeria cyberspace freak. By the way my cell phone displays incoming numbers like +233245893615 and +233272104302.
"+233245893615 and +233272104302"
Both of those numbers originate in Ghana, West Africa.
Hi Deb and Tina,
My soldier was Philip Miller……….. basically same story! Wonder if its same scammer? Do the pictures say Miller on the uniform? There was once a mail in which he called me Tina…….when i challenged himon it he said Tina was his Mum. This was when I had already become suspicious!
You can contact me on heidi.lynn1@gmail.com
Lets compare notes!
Heidi
South Africa
I was also scammed by Philip Miller…an Army soldier on a mission in Iraq….
[...] The infamous military dating scam: Learn it so you can avoid it. (A Soldier's Perspective) [...]
I too was scammed by Staff Sgt Michael Rancourt, widower, son Ken from NY!!! He asked for 2,500 dollars for transit…….I knew it was a scam as his grammer was really bad in his desperate attempt to get the money. This has to stop, obviously someone is paying these guys to make it worth their while, sooooo many hours on the internet, unbelieveable,
Louise, Ireland
cj can i send you a name so u can help me
@Louise:"This has to stop, obviously someone is paying these guys to make it worth their while, sooooo many hours on the internet, unbelieveable,"
I am from Central-Europe, but here are more and more scammers from Ghana and Nigeria too. Sometimes I think that is not just about money, maybe something perverse joy to ask for money under a masque of a us soldier from (mainly us) women. You know those cells in Nigeria are supported by talibans. It is a joy for them to play games with women who want for themselves a us soldier as lover. It is kinda revenge to get money from a us girl and using that money for buying weapons against us/nato soldier in Afgahnistan.
I hope u see what i mean. (English is not my mother tongue)
Just realized after 2 days of chatting that the Sargeant, the true love of my life, writes with an accent! The tip was he kept asking me what was I going to take for breakfast, instead of eat for breakfast. After the second time I became suspicious. Also I have asked him many time where his family imigrated from. For some reason he can't understand that, just keeps saying he's white.Great thing about the American families, heritages are from everywhere. Finally came the request for 375.00 to be able to talk with him while stationed in Iraq. So the love of my life (after a total of maybe 3 hors chat) is probobly a terrorist and would take my 375.00 to by weapons to kill the real Sargeant Marion Walters. I haven't told him to kiss off yet- think I'll toy with him abit and let him see what American women are really made of!
Hi did I make a mistake in my contact adresses, well they are at top but will put it here again to make sure so you can get to me who wants pics of their scammer " Niacha " calling himself jakson_adams and jakson admas as in proper full name who ever want me to send the pics I have them on file or go to ILS,( Internet love scams ) go on to my thread tickle my tea and look me up, and all will be revealed if not write to me telling me who you are and I will send out the pics, though I have sent them here to MARCUS as well so up to you, a few people have them sorry if I made a muck up ( if I did last time sending in fo best wishes Trish W.
Hi!
I write from Sweden and I have just been contacted by a E-6 SSG Richard Miller station in Iraq. And live in Falund, Sweden. On the datingsite firstdate.com his nickname is happyguy. I don't know what made me suspect, but I am. So I went out on google and found this site. And I got my feelings confirmed., when I read about a similar Richard Miller. He also have a son named Peter who livs at his mother place in Miami. But he is going to get him from there when he retierds from the military in 2 mounth. His been there for ten allredy, and this is the second time. He has sent me alots of pictures from the military logement and privates from his life in Miami, and he has also sent pictures on his son.He haven't been asking for money yet… but we haven't spoken so long on messenger either. His email is richard_miller2009@hotmail.com. Now when I think things over he sad that he was borne 2/8 -60 but in the profile it stand aquarius. Witch is in january, he is allso bi sexuell. And when I asked him about the time in Iraq he said that the clock was 2 hours before Sweden, not wright. I feel soo hurt. That there are people who is so bad, and take advantage of women who are alone. I'm 47 yers. And I don't like beeing foold with… I will take this link to my profile in firstdate and warn others.. best regards Annabell
Hi AnnBritt,
Think your Richard Miller is the same 'guy' as my Philip Miller…………..story sounds the same and I have come across another lady being scammed under Richard Miller. Send me a photo so we can see if its same guy.
heidi.lynn1@gmail.com
heidi
CJ, I recently reported a name to E-Harmony as a potential scammer. I believe a foreigner was posing as a "Captain Mathew Swain" from Plano, TX. The interaction strongly resembles the pattern I found on your website…which by the way is WONDERFUL. While I never would have sent money, I think I was being set up for the approach and this guy needs to be stopped and the REAL Capt. Swain notified that several of his picutres and his identity have been stolen. The yahoo address was cptmathewswain@yahoo.com. I received confirmation today (one day later—yea, E-Harm!) that his profile has been removed after investigation. Thank you for your website. I never would have been as aggressive to report had I not found you online. THANK YOU AGAIN and keep up the good work!!!! Michelle, GA
this people are going to be put to justice pretty soon that is what i know
Just so everyone is aware, Rick is writing from the African island of Mauritius and may be part of the problem. This is the same place from which many of these scammers operate as well.
G'day,
Has anybody heard of Richard Baloyi using the name of a US army person Captain Harry Smith? He has scanned copy of Cpt Harry's passport.
Beware of Richard, it appears that he's into the scam game…
Glenn
Anyone come across either a Sgt DAVID EDWARDS or a Sgt DAVID LINGO for scamming? One has most certainly tried to scam me for Ts2 money/operation for his son and the other may be trying.
Other scams have included a "Doctor" over in Pakistan working for the UN wanting credit for his mobile phone (DR TOM) and another "businessman" on a business trip to Kabul wanting mobile top ups too. I am amazed at these professional people who can't even organise mobile phone credit.
I haven't partied with any monies but am truly appalled that these things can be run from what we feel should be trusted Dating Sites (I refer to Friends Reunited Dating where these swines have come from). Where the hell is their responsibility in all this. They take our money to register and these guys are free to take advantage and the websites don't seem to care.
If anyone recognises the scammers could they let me know.
Cheers, and well done for helping me realise I am not alone on this.
If anyone has news of either of the above persons
I've been chatting with someone called Phil Adams that I met on Match. He says he is from New Jersey and currently serving in Iraq. I asked for pics of him in his military attire, but he said his laptop was broken so he couldn't access them. Then asked me to send him a laptop with webcam so he could take pics and we could see each other will chatting. I told him I would, but when he gave me the mailing address it is to 60 Mango Tree Ave. Accra Ghana. I thought that was weird so I didn't send the laptop. When I asked him about it he said he could not receive mail where he was in Bhagdad, and he just received orders to go to Western Africa to keep the piece for oil that has been found there. I tried looking up any current information about that online, but have not been successful. His e-mail is Phil_Adams4u@yahoo.com, and Phil_Adams4me@live.com. Told him that I thought this was a scam and he has done everything to convince me otherwise. Said didn't care about the laptop and wouldn't ask for anything else. I just recently decided to put myself out there for dating again, and this was the first contact I got. So heart breaking. It makes me what give up. Please someone tell me if this is a scam.
Miki
Sorry Miki but it is a scam. I got the same story as you only he used the name Mark Donnelly.First he wanted the laptop than a sat phone then cash and on and on. When I began to question him he told me he wanted nothing from me but my love. But the funny thing was within a week he was asking me again.I found this site and there were two other women getting the same story from him. They change their name but the story stays pretty much the same. I'm so sorry Miki.
After reading more on here today I would like to say CJ is my hero! I am learning so much about scamming and it is enlightening.
I do have one question though, being incredibly ignorant of Army life/Army speak, please, what is AKO??
Am making notes to help me not fall victim to this again and any help would be appreciated. Also, my hotmail account doesn't show message headers for tracing back… how do I get my hotmail messages to reveal these in the body of the mail??
For those who have the geographic knowledge, is Sunnyvale CA anywhere near San Jose (apologies again for asking what may seem like a dumb question).
Is there an address I can contact CJ about my concerns with people trying to scam me recently.
Thanks again, much appreciated
Lorraine in the UK
Another question for you: are US Soldiers based in Iraq/Afghanistan able to receive ordinary mail whilst overseas? You know the kind I mean, a good old fashioned hnadwritten letter!
And whist I am still here, the .mil accounts that all Soldiers have, are they able to send/receive mail to the likes of us Civilans whilst overseas, or is it meant to be for offical communications only??
Your advice on the above would be appreciated.
Lorraine
Still in the UK
Lorraine, CJ and All.. I have finished comm's with a Sgt Micheal Travis real photos with Travis name on uniform serving at Bagdad..I IP'd him and located as Sunnyvale CA..strangely talking to another Ltnt Charles Ramsy Swanson who asked if I was talking to any other soldiers(maybe two could not scam me at once!!) How did he know? Are they in a group 'operation scam'?Charles cuts and pastes love poems etc..slightly outa kilter English at times but limited conversation and default responses completely wrong for the question. Micheal Travis asked for connection charges ..NEVER Pay Money to a man ..No normal man would ask! Ltnt Swanson IP located Redmond. Witchita..
Question: are there any real military guys looking to date?
Question CJ: Can't we start a website that forces Friends Reunited Dating and other sites to be responsible. I have had three/four peoples communications grounded by them and one perve taken off only after insisting that I would report them to a charity involved with those targeted for the abusive comments by a profiler. THEY DON@T CARE ..WAtchdog needs to get onto it or summat. I have played my first scammer..WHY NOT ASK THEM TO LEND YOU MONEY IN RETURN..SAy you were in a desperate hole too..response should be interesting. Ltnt Charles says he has his own money and does not need mine or a phone contact set up..Is he real or have I just not had the bubble burst..wait and see..Heart and mind are played with ..it is difficult.
Hi Mary.
I am at the moment in contact with sgt. MT, who after two days told me that he loved me. Is your MT also latin looking and terribly handsome? Has said that he is leaving for another camp, without any network connection, so he asked me to pay for a telephone service, but I didn't have the money. He was supposed to have left Thursday, but I caught him on YM today.
Is now leaving Saturday. 
I wrote about him on another page, but as you said they know, what is going on, as he asked me to remove, what I had written. Does your MT also write: It ok, that fine etc?
All the best
Christine
Interesting comments Mary.
I was fortunate not to give my money away to these guys. Before the "military" scams I was asked for money for mobile top ups and flaty refusde: one of the guy's did send me flowers and chocolates a week before Valentines Day so I like to think I am £40GBP up on the deal. One of the topup scammers was a "DR TOM" the other was a business man KENNETH PATTERSON from Fleetwood, Lancs England.
The "Military" scammers were SGT DAVID EDWARDS in Afghanistan, widowed (wife supposidly died of cancer). His emails never really responded to the questions inmine, and the writing from the onset felt to me to come from someone for whom English was not their first language. I did feel that he used a template for his emails and just jiggled about with the details. His emails did make me wonder if he was genuine. He wanted to set up a TS2 account, the response to the "TS2" request wanted £504GBP to set up unlimited calls. I told him in no uncertain terms could I pay so much. A little later his son Alex (9) needed an appendix op and the hospital wanted payment up front before they would give him this life saving operation. Again I said I couldn't help because I believed the US Army would help him in that instance (of course he said they wouldn't). Funny how on the night of his son's emergency he was deeply worried but his email the following morning made no mention of the child which made me almost sure he was on the take. Funny how a day or two later Sgt Edwards was shot ON the leg (not IN the leg as I would say) and needed hospitalisation for a few days. Funny too how his emails dried up from that point.
"Military" scam number 2 came from SGT DAVIND LINGO, Deployed out of Fort Hood, Texas, currently assigned to Iraq. His photo's clearly showed the name LINGO on his uniforms (battle and dress) so I don't really doubt he may well be a genuine US Soldier out there, and I apologise if this expose upsets him. The real Sgt David Lingo would be as appalled as I am by the imposter who uses his name to defraud women. The photo of the Military personnel I was shown was particularly scrummy (please note real Sgt David Lingo!) and combined with the very smooth and exquisite words the impersonator used he was very convincing as a man with a a beautiful mind. It was easy to get sucked in to believing him entirely. He spent an inordinate amount of time late evening online chatting (making it feasable to believe he had this spare time to chat because it impinged on time when he might otherwise be sleeping with the 3 hour time difference. His emails/chat had some small grammatical errors but this could be attributed to typing quickly on a small PDA. I know my own typing suffers sometimes. Again though, he used the word ON the leg when referring to an accident involving a member of his squad, and the phrase ON bed when IN bed would be more correct.
My own lack of knowledge regarding Army procedures and protocol did not help. I was told by both soldiers that I could not send ordinary mail to them at their Base Camp. Whilst I thought it a touch odd I assumed that perhaps with the saturation of email/internet access good old fashioned letter writing was considered uneccesary by the Forces. I had no idea each and every Soldier has his/her own unique .mil address (is this also known as their AKO??)
I was aked to apply for his transit leave and given an address of transit_leave_department@militarymailbox.us to write to, for the attention of a Lt Col Robert Friedman. Naturally, I received a reply early the following day asking me to complete and return a form, and a second email which confirmed his leave had been granted and asked me for the princley sum of £2,350GBP for the Human Affairs Charges, and £1,850GBP Stamp Duty for the returning Officer Sgt Robert Klein. Frankly, money aside, the forms were clearly amateurish in both presentation and content and shouldn't really fool anybody! Again, my lack of knowledge allowed me to believe that it had to me who applied for this leave, not the soldier. Your website clearly staes it is the serving personnel who must apply.
Fortunately I found your website and read some interesting details about scamming. I checked out SGT LINGO's (and his sons) email addresses which both came out of Sunnyvale CA. The Transit leave address came back as 'spoofed' and if I can only reveal the message headings I may be able to locate that too at some point. It's clearly obvious to me now that I was being set up for a scam.
Unfortunately, as in many cases here, I came to like the idea of the Sgt Lingo with the scrummy face, and to think I was never ever chatting to that man saddens me deeply. I am fortunate not to have lost any money in the process and I will be more scam aware in future. I have your website to thank for that at least. Thank you.
If anyone out there has had similar experiences with either of these men, or if you are able to look into it with more resources and sucess than I, then I welcome your intervention.
Keep up the good work and I shall continue to look at this site if only to be entertained by CJ, whose wit, writing and tenacity have made me feel just that little bit better about myself today.
Happy hunting guys xx
Anyone know who I can get in touch with in the US Army to let the REAL Sgt Lingo know his identity has been compromised??
I sure would like him to be aware that his name is being used in a such a dishonourable way.
Many thanks again
Lorraine
hello to all i have been trying to find out if the soldier that i'mpenpalling with is reall because its hard for me to trust poeple,anyways i cannot find any information,that can tell me if that person is real can anyone here help me,th eonly thing we talked about is that latter i coul dapply for an leave of some kind,i sayed i needed more time baceusa we dont really know each other,if there is any info i can give you guys to see if he is real?
Has anyone been approached by Sgt Alan Klein? with the e-mail trumindx@yahoo.com? I have been chatting to him on messenger for almost a month now.
Each time we seem to be getting somewhere the matter of "money" raises its ugly head.
He started in Afghanistan in Camp Herat – which raised my suspicions because Google could not find a Camp Herat.
Then off to to Pakistan and now in the Niger Delta.
Proclamations and protestations of undying love.
Has a house in Coulsdon and one in New Jersey. Widowed with teenage son.
Also, when he rang, he didn't sound American!
A warning to all.
whats your evidence about this man…has he told you not loving you again…cos i met a man online serving in pakistan and we met few week before xmas..hes back on camp now and we do communicate frequently.he came home for val on compassionate leave.
Michaella and Jane
I have been spun tales of undying love by two US Soldiers on Friends Reunited Dating, both supposedly located in the UK (where I am from) and trust me both are scammers. big style. Heartbreaking to think they assume identities of real soldiers who are the real deal and probably wouldn't dream of tricking women in this way.
DON'T part with ANY money.
Get CJ to check it out on here and walk away.
I was spun an intricate web of lies and deceit, misinformed, misled and almost taken in by one of them. In fact 4 of 5 people I interacted with on Friends Reunited tried to scam me in some way.
Read the notes on this website: it's worth taking in every word because there are so many out there just waiting to suck you in.
Hello again.
My 'Soldier', after a few days silence has just sent me mail from his '@army.mil' e mail account which I figure may be bogus. I have asked CJ to look at it for me, although my own enquiries to an email checker came out blank. It may look all wrong anyway to someone from the Military who has used such an account in the past (CJ, would I count you amongst them??)
Someone on here did say a bogus .mil account could be set up in no time.
I am waiting to see how more convincing my 'Soldier' will try to be in the pursuit of this scam.
Anyone any experience of this able to impart their knowledge to us unsuspecting sorts? Actually, I am very suspecting all the time now: I read dating site profiles with an eye for the possible scam and it has warned me off one or two recently, lol. Maybe I am learning!!
Good luck everyone.
Lorraine
Any hear of following
Sgt_Chrisambrose212@yahoo
Ambrose
Christopher Walls
I received and email from S Sgt.Mark Wells,at Tagged.com.It is a carbon copy of what has been said here…I love you,$500 for a phone,three pictures,etc.
I figured it out,thanks to the info on the net from places like this.Thanks for sharing your stories,and I hope more people get informed before falling for these jerks!
I haven't let my 'Soldier' know yet that I am on to him. He still thinks he can scam me somehow. He is currently working on the 'I will send you the money for my Transit' option but I am flatly refusing to have anything to do with it. To help me change my mind I am getting the 'I cheated death twice on Monday' and 'I am tired and weak' scenario. I am keeping him dangling for as long as I can just to waste his time. His .mil account is false (he doesn't know I know that) and he has sent me more pictures (where the hell is he getting them from) of the real Soldier.
I have asked for a pic of him holding a card with my name on it which he has promised and I am never going to see. He wants more pics of me but he can whistle for that.
His 'Son' has sent me his mobile number so I can contact him (the 'Son') anytime: another dead end I believe. I am just waiting for the 'Son' in distress call to pull on my heart strings next.
Thank goodness this Site gave me some insight. I must say they have been fabulous. CJ has been most kind and helpful in everything he has done for me on here. Thanks again.
Lorraine UK
Good news!!
I have found the REAL SGT LINGO on Myspace and have messaged him to let him know his identity has been stolen.
I am really pleased to have found him so I can get closure. Hopefully he can take it further if he wants to. I will happily supply him with all the information I have about this scammer (who isn't fit to lick Sgt Lingo's boots in my opinion)
Don't give up, don't get sucked in and I hope we all find a decent man on here somehow.
I have been talking to a man who has claimed that his wife died in a car accident, he has a 2 year old daughter who is staying with his mom and sister in Bridgeport, CT, supposedly where he is from. He is stationed in Afghanistan and wants to come "home" to me. Needed $1050 to get clearance from the UN and to get a liberty pass. He left Afghanistan and is now in London where he needs $400 more to get to the United States. What the heck? Can't something be done about this!!?
J'ai été contacté par un dénommé lieutenant colonel Chris Chronis par le biais d'une agence de rencontre pour célibataires. Amoureux, entreprenant, très attentionné, en viens à me dire qu'il voudrait me parler par le biais d'un téléphone satellite, mais qu'il ne pouvait avoir accès à de l'argent pour délivrer ce téléphone, j'accède à sa requête, avec plaisir de poursuivre de vive voix…Arnaquée, wowowowow, Une amie a découvert votre site, et merci….aux victimes d'être là….J'ai déposé une plainte à la Gendarmerie ROyale du Canada et auprès d'Interpol, afin de coincer celui qui a retiré mon argent avec pièces d'identité au Royaume-Uni, je sais que les usurpateurs doivent agir du Nigéria…