Well, I would say if he has contacted you on the internet to chat... he’s a scammer. But we can go into it further.
Parts of this were on a Blog by a real Army wife... so she should know. The rest is from me:
He’s in Special Operations
1. He is in a special operations unit and therefore cannot share any information with you. (NEVER....EVER) It’s true that special ops guys can’t discuss their job but that also means they don’t tell random strangers they’re in special ops. In real life if a Special Ops soldier is asked what he does... he says he's a soldier !!! Special ops guys don’t brag about it. They’re known as “quiet professionals” for a reason.
He’s Been Denied Leave
2. He has been deployed for two years, has been denied leave time and will not be coming home any time soon therefore you won’t be able to meet. If there were soldiers being denied leave after being overseas for years at a time, it would be ALL over the news. It’s a lie. Soldiers and all servicemen get leave called R & R.... Rest and Recuperation. It's important to the wellbeing of all troops.
He’s on a Top Secret Mission
3. He is on a top secret mission in a country other than Iraq or Afghanistan (or even in Iraq or Afghanistan – it’s all lies). Now, we certainly do have troops in other countries. However, they don’t talk about it and they certainly don’t tell you they are on a “top secret mission”. Also, any special operations soldier worth his beret will not reveal his location to someone he doesn’t know (or even someone he does!). A top secret mission doesn't mean he can contact women on Social Media and tell them all about it.
He Needs Permission from Someone in His Unit
4. He says he is not allowed to talk about what he does, however, he has cleared it with his CO that he can tell you enough to make you believe he is who he says. !!!!!
This is followed by outrageous lies. If he truly is not allowed to share any details about his job, his CO doesn’t even allow him to talk about it with family, much less someone he met on the internet.
Sometimes with this tactic, they will ask you to email/send mail to the CO to ask for permission. Then the supposed CO sends back a letter asking for money to connect a phone line or some other complete lie. It's all about asking for money and the CO you ask is.... yes, the scammer himself.
Everyone Around Him is Dead
5. He says one of the following….his parents died, his wife died in his arms, his wife was killed in a car accident along with all of his children, his children are orphaned and living in some remote location, or he was orphaned……all LIES.
Or it's a bit.. or all of the above !!! Really? I know some very unlucky people but this is just over the top. And I mean if this was for real and that kind of luck follows him, why do you want to be with him? One was told he would never walk again !! Well, sad his fingers worked again to send the messages ! Sometimes it's cancer, although I have had that the wife had cancer and she couldn't drive safely and she crashed the car....
He Has No Mailing Address
6. He says he doesn’t have a mailing address because either he is in a classified unit or his position changes so often. Even in special operations, he’ll have an APO address. BFPO for British Military. And this is not a post office box and it’s not in Nigeria!!
It also has NOTHING to do with a Western Union office. And you don’t have to send it through a relative because he can’t give out his address
He Needs Money for Leave
7. He says he needs you to pay for his R&R leave because the Army doesn’t pay for it. This is absolutely false!
A real soldier will not request money to travel home as he doesn’t need it! The Army pays for all travel to and from a war zone or anywhere he is deployed.
This includes emergency travel like the death of a loved one. It’s not like you just book your own flight home from Afghanistan on Delta or British Airways.
He Needs You to Request His Leave
8. He says he can come home but you have to request his leave through an email address. If all an Army spouse had to do was email her soldier’s commander to get him home from deployment, don’t you think ALL Army spouses would be doing this?
I don't know why wives have to do this... they are all widowed, the Army could save printing costs !
There would be no one deployed if this was the case. The Army does not allow leave requests from Army family members. In fact, even in the case of the death of an immediate family member, the information has to be verified by the American Red Cross before the soldier’s command is contacted for possible leave by officials at the Red Cross – they don’t just take your word for it.
He Needs You to Pay for a Phone Line
9. He wants you to pay for a phone line, cell phone or calling card so you can talk to each other. Real soldiers can call home for FREE.
If he asks for this, he’s a scammer. Not to mention, soldiers are making enough to buy a phone card if they really had to.
He’s About to Retire
10. He’s about to retire and then he can marry you and live happily ever after. This usually also includes stories about being a higher ranking officer. Typical story and it’s all lies. Real officers have even LESS time to be online talking to strangers over the internet.
They DON'T get a Certificate of Retirement. If they want to marry they need a security clearance. They can't just wander home and marry a random stranger they met online. Think of the security implications !!
His Child Needs ANYTHING....
11. He has a child that is dying or needs surgery (or some other medical emergency) and he needs the money to pay for it.
All military dependents are covered by Medical care/ NHS, which for the most part is amazing insurance. Real soldiers aren’t paying out of pocket for their kid’s medical care.
He’s a General
12. And he’s only 28! Wow, talk about a quick advancement!
A General will have well over 20 years of service and less than 1% of officers will make it to the rank of General.
On top of that, Generals make a minimum of $12,000 per month in JUST base pay. So why exactly would he need money from you? Why would he be going online to contact women randomly for his new wife !!!!!
His Pay is Deposited in the U.S. and He Has No Access
13. Seriously? First, the Army is providing the essentials while you’re deployed so there’s not a need for a lot of money overseas.
Second, they can have access to your money, so this is yet another lie. There are ATMs on any main post and the PX accepts debit and credit cards.
If he says he’s somewhere that there isn’t an ATM or another way to get money, there is also nothing for him to spend money on. So why does he need it?
You soldier cannot pop down to Kabul Fried Chicken when he fancies.. he doesn't need money. He won't be starving.
He’s On a Peacekeeping Mission in {ANYWHERE}
14. Last time I checked we aren’t on a lot of peacekeeping missions in Nigeria and Syria. One was even in Paris. And if we were, a real soldier wouldn’t tell you that.
Verify The Truth
So how can you find out if he’s telling the truth?
The absolute best way to verify is with #2 – ask him to email you from his Army email address.
Ask him to give you his Army email address rather than his yahoo, hotmail, etc. This will be his firstname.lastname@US.ARMYmail.mil. (I believe they do change it but it is asily found) All soldiers have an Army email account. There is NO reason why he can’t provide it – regardless of what unit he is assigned to, what his mission may be, who he’s working for, etc. And the Army email account is free so him saying his credit card hasn’t been processed or his account is locked because he didn’t pay is also a lie.
If he refuses to provide this, he’s fake.
But you say he’s sent you pictures or a copy of his ID?
Many have been provided pictures, copies of military identification cards, even videos. First, pictures can be grabbed from anywhere on the internet – there’s no guarantee you’re talking to that person. They may very well be using the picture of a real soldier but that doesn’t mean you’re talking to him. Some of these scumbags are using the pictures of soldiers who were killed in action to run their scams. It’s sick.
Someone told me once they were dating a General and she even had pictures. I told her to send them to me. Guess who the pictures were of? David Petraeus!
Some use totally fake pictures in uniforms that are all messed up – I’ve seen Army uniforms with Air Force tapes and Navy insignia – no joke.
I’ve seen very badly doctored military ID cards where it’s obvious he’s typed over information on the card. What’s funny is he’ll type over the only legitimate information on the card and replace it with something that makes no sense. Such as rank of SPC and pay grade of MAJ.
The pictures they use many times on military IDs are so fake and it’s so obvious. Real military ID pictures basically look like a mugshot – solid background with him in uniform and basically only showing his face (maybe the very top of his shoulders). Someone sent me one the other day that not only looked nothing like a military ID (more like a business card for a recruiter), it had a picture of a soldier who was obviously at a military ball or some other formal event as he had a bow tie with his dress uniform. That is NOT an ID picture.
SOMETIMES THE SCAMMER HAS VIDEO OF THE MAN THEY SAY THEY ARE. IF THEY CAN'T ANSWER YOU AND THEY SAY THEY CAN'T DO THIS FOR SECURITY... THEN THEY ARE LYING. THEY ARE SIMPLY PLAYING YOU VIDEO.
Or maybe he’s added you on Facebook and even changed his relationship status to you AS HIS WIFE. fake.. he can't.
Soldiers Don’t Have Time For This
99.9% of military guys overseas don’t have the time available to them to email, chat and Skype for hours at a time or even every day online. They are too busy doing their JOB. And most have no interest in “dating” someone online while they’re deployed. Continuing to talk to their loved one that they knew before deployment? Absolutely! Time to peruse dating sites and chat for hours? Absolutely not.
*****
But he said he loves you and wants to marry you….even though you “met” last week
I’m assuming if you’re falling for this, you’ve never been in a military town. Go downtown in a military town to a club one night and let me know how many single soldiers are there looking for the love of their life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your soldier can't just marry you. He has to ask permission and the Military have to know who you are.... Security again.
He wants to marry you.. is prepared to wait months to get to you and never sleep with you while waiting... ERM.... No... they don't work like that !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many of these stories contain comments about him saying he loves you within a few days/weeks/hours/minutes (my fastest was 8 minutes)..... of starting to talk or he wants to marry you as soon as he returns.
Let’s get this straight – you haven’t met and certainly haven’t had the opportunity to have any kind of physical relationship, yet he wants to marry you?
Does this sound feasible to you? If you’re even hesitating on the answer, I’ll help you. It’s not. They’re lying so they can get in your wallet.
And they’re doing this to many others at the same time they’re doing it to you. It’s just who is going to open up access to their bank account first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But you asked him if he was a scammer and he said no!
Come on, think about this! Why would he admit it to you? Or even better, he told you he is in fact a scammer but he REALLY loves you…..as long as you keep sending him money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He hasn’t asked for money yet though
Don’t worry,HE WILL. If any of the above signs sound familiar, it’s only a matter of time. He may get pretty far into his story before he asks. He may wait until his plane is supposed to leave and you’re meeting him in less than 24 hours. Then all of the sudden disaster strikes and he needs three grand to be able to come home. LIES!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even though he’s doing these things, you still think he’s the real deal
I hate to be harsh but if any of the above sounds familiar, it’s a SCAM. Don’t sit there and think you’re the exception. You’re not the lucky one who’s encountered these signs but somehow your guy is the real deal. He’s FAKE. He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t want to marry you. And sooner or later, he’s going to ask for money.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I get emails and messages (or comments) from people who tell me the story and ask me if he’s fake. I answer yes, it’s a scam. And what do they do? Keep asking me more questions – but he does this or he said this or he sent me these pictures.
Guess what? The answer is still the same. It’s a scam. Go back and read the first line in bold at the top of this article. I don’t care if he asks you to mail him a penny – a real soldier will NOT ask you for money. A real soldier makes more overseas than he does when he’s home!!
The Scam Checklist
LET'S SUM UP HERE.,,,,
If he’s asking for money for a phone line, it’s a scam.
If he’s asking for money for travel home, it’s a scam.
If he needs you to help him move money from one location to another, it’s a scam.
IF HE IS ASKING FOR MONEY IT IS A SCAM.......
If he asks for your bank account information, it’s a scam.
If he wants you to wire money for ANY reason via Western Union (or similar service), it’s a scam.
If he asks you to email his command so he can come home, it’s a scam.
If he tells you to open a bank account or credit card for him, it’s a scam (and this one could get you into legal trouble!)
PLEASE STOP SENDING SCAMMERS MONEY.. THEY ARE BREEDING BECAUSE OF IT. SCAMMERS 'LIVE BIG' IS WHAT THEY SAY. OTHERS SEE AND JOIN IN. IT'S A NATIONAL INDUSTRY IN AFRICA.
No comments:
Post a Comment