I just came across a post on “A Soldier’s Perspective” discussing a rather disgusting and disturbing trend that has guys posing as soldiers on Internet dating sites. Here’s the quote from CJ’s:
The latest trend involves trolling internet dating sites and convincing women that they are honorable Soldiers who have fallen in love and would do anything to communicate with the object of their affection. But, because they are deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq, they need you to sign up for an expensive telecommunications service like “Military TELEX” in order to make that happen. They profess unending love as their motivator and, unfortunately, many women have fallen for it.
The BIG red flag here is that the guy is asking for money. NEVER fall for that con.
If you come across anyone on a dating site who is asking you for money, regardless of the reason; block them immediately from further contact and then report them to the internet dating service.
You can also check out who is really behind their email address…
AND / or their telephone number…
To read specific details about about one incident, read CJ’s post “The New Military Dating Scam”.
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MSG McLaughlin,
I did send you photos of Barcinas, but am wondering if maybe the email went to your spam or junk folder? I put Barcinas in the subject line hoping you would know what it was about.
Wendy – yes, you have been scammed.
I admire those of you who have the time and patience to play with these scammers. I met mine on Facebook – he was a friend of a friend, so I thought he was ok.I was not looking for anyone, it “just happened”. After this happened I tried signing up on the dating sites, just to lure in some scammers and mess with them a bit, but in the process, some nice and decent guys were contacting me, as well as a couple of scammers, but it just made me feel like I was as bad as them, made me feel kind of dirty actually. I know- I’m weird! I also found another site similar to this one that listed online dating sites – there must be thousands! I realized how futile my pathetic attempts would be, and besides it was bringing me down to spend my time that way anyway. My suggestion to anyone who really wants to help a soldier is to adopt one. I found Soldiers Angels.org and have adopted a soldier through there. They have many ways of helping our troops that you can volunteer for.They even sent a shipment of care packages to Japan, and our troops delivered them :)Good luck to you all.
This is to Wendy, I hate to tell you this but my Nigeria Scammer used my info to create a new identity my last boyfriend name was Bryan Conley. I’m from Altoona…Just seems fishy to me. My Scmamer asked me where I was from, and who I last dated and those were my answers. Ask Questions about Altoona for instints what is the famous attraction there? What is the AAA ball teams name? Or the name of high schools, the nearest town. If he claims to be from there he will have no problem answering any of those questions. We all from Altoona know those answers.
Forgot to mention in my above post his email was bryncon@yahoo.com. Has a very charming way about him and I had 5 photos (not just 1 or 2!)LOOKOUT! I am supremely pissed that I actually wasted 2 months of my time talking to this person! You really can’t trust anything online folks! Like my Dad said, “meet face to face or forget it!” Wish I could post the pictures here but I did on another site on their wall of shame.
Hi. I think I maybe the latest scammed victim. Mine is a Sargent Bryn or (Brian?) Conley stationed in Afghanistan. Any way any one could help? I thought I did a pretty good job of checking. He was on Match.com as AltoonaSgt. He has a US IP address (like me) he is on Yahoo. We have been Im-ing since January but he’s now mentioned needing money for his Diplomat friend to get me a package? I’m really mad at myself for not doing more detective work.
I have been doing research on these scammers for quite awhile and have become quite knowledgeable, I think. Anyone need a picture identified maybe I can help. If it is a scammer claiming to be in the US Army, a picture in his dress uniform works best. Need help??
Thank you all for posting your comments! and special thanks to my lovely admin for finding you! I have a SGT GARY JORDAN finds me on a dating website here in AUS. Turns out that he said he was widowed lost his wife to cancer….and he connected with me because I had survived breast cancer. After a time of him telling me I should have feelings for him – which give me a friggin’ break! then tells me I should send and email to connectafgha_iraq@post.com so that we can speak. My lovely admin however tells me about this site and at least 7 others that she found in the last 20 minutes!
He then sends me an “R” rated msg which is so not right at this point in a relationship!!
Anyway Ladies – I have logged a formal complaint with is division in Kabul – if he really is there!
Thanks again for your honesty!!!
I have been contacted by a man that says he is a CW2 in the US military but I keep getting the feeling that something isn’t right. He says he is a Spanish American and didn’t even spell Spanish correctly. He says he has an 18 year old son who is studying to become a doctor and is getting married. He says he is from COS and his mother is Canadian that’s why he is going to live in Toronto (where I am) when his tour is done in six months. He has been in Afghan for the past 9. Do you have any questions or ideas for me to find out if this man is for real?
Hello ladies,
Seems as though the old scammers are coming back and now in Canada. I have been contacted by a Leonard Ramos/Raymos, or the col. most have been talking about. Now it seems as though someone has been able to track down the real guy as well as his friend that knows him and informs us he is trying to shut things down…dont believe it for a second. I found a site where most of these photo’s come from….would really like to find out who the real guy is in the photo and meet him…I have a lot to say to him….maybe the real guy likes all the attention he is getting, well its just about over…with all of us out there he will be shut down…he also goes by the name ronramos103 on single military dating site, shelby singles dating site…
Its been excactly 1 week to the day where I truly believed this handsome US army sgt ? rios(with what I know now, highly doubt first name would even be mike!),was really going to meet me at perth international airport,western australia,even ultimatley sending me via email a bogus emirates flight itinerary reciepted paid for in UK pounds!
Well I know now these guys are professional theives,heartbreakers and evil lying scum of the earth scammers and no doubt can reproduce any false documents these days on a PC!
The scammer, even as I was only hours away from expecting them to greet me at the airport in they’re open loving arms as they often put it,was unbeknown to me in the process of PC generating(theres!) a fabricated email,complete with letterhead,headed “Home office”, and go on to regretfully inform me that sgt michael rios,me still at this stage thinkin yeah,the gorgeous guy in the photo(sigh!) has been found at londons heathrow airport being in possesion of a M(1911) ammunition and an unrefined diamond to the tune of US$114,000 (the diamond he said he had found on some mission he was on to counteract a terrorist strike at a minesite!)
He even drags into this whole fabricated imposing story another US army female soldier who he claims is his close soldier freind,Kate freeman,as the surname is convieniently truly hers anyhow as I see on her shirt,(standing in a few photo shots with the handsome US army sgt rios!)
Then has the barefaced cheek to say in his email,”soldier kate says to ask you jon,can you be trusted and you wont hurt my feelings”?
In regards to the heathrow airport situation,this fake letter headed home office email informs me he is detained in custody due to what was discovered on him and that he has defaulted the UK laws on terror and is facing a court/trial appearance the following day!
Im still at this stage concerned for my “handsome soldier”,the “guy in the photos”,the guy(scammer who all along),professes,declares he, “loves me so much”!
The only consolation this scammer has got going for them is least they didnt stand me up at an airport arrivals lounge!
But no I still made the mistake of at least halfway driving to the airport thinking they would “overlook the pistol thing”,as he is true US army sgt rios the “home office”,bogusly confirm with me!
But no,halfway to the airport I get the next “home office”,email stating his following next days court appearance,and then realise,oh well may as well turn round and drive back home!
This next email the next night I recieve from the usual, “scott chapman FID, home office” informing me that yeah cos “sgt michael rios is real US army sgt”,although plea of guilt,despite that ,he is released on bail to the tune of £650GBP,and convieniently exchanged into a AUST$ amount,finishing of with,”so we hope to hear from you soon”!
Like f…! You will I thought,and emailed back!
And that only happened 1 week to the day as Im writing this!
I even lost my job because this scammer,”the handsome guy in the photos”,Stole my heart,and yeah we even had a few aurguments over the net,made up and I even spoke often with the american/portuguese,spanish sounding guy over the phone who even when calling me,”honey, and “I love you so much”, you could pick out combinations of both these accents,and even the real US army sgt rios does not look a great deal portuguese,spanish,ect…….but too still looks and probably in real life sounds american,or maybe even a bit of both!?
Anyway,ive given a full enough account of this heartbreaking experience to cj,robert mclaughlin,and ghost 2 zero.
I feel out of respect and admiration for the real and true US army sgt Rios in that these lowlife scamming scumbags are in fact still stealing this soldiers identity because although they are not directly involved in duping $ and breaking this guys heart,like these slime have done to me,still what these criminals are ultimatley doing to US army sgt rios is showing the most complete and utter disregard and contempt towards this selfless,true in his devotion and dedication in serving his great country,his people,his soldier buddies and the whole world from the daily,ongoing real terror threat that posesses a now global scale! As far as I am concerned these scammers who are fasingly imposing as somebody so willingly sacrificial,so deserving of the upmost of respect for how well and true they serve there country,are never in a million years going to ever measure up to the true US army sgt Rios and are nothing but scamming terrorists in my book and should be hunted down and punished accordingly!!
US army sgt Rios,I,we salute you!
This happens to gay guys too you know!
Its just happened to me!
I met a person on a gay dating site using the name of
a sgt michael rios sgtmrios and lured me off the site to they’re email address and sent me pictures of this very handsome soldier.For 5 weeks whoever was emailing me every day convincing me it was them with the charm of they’re emails and the attraction I felt,well fell is the more operable word here for both the emailer and the good looking guy in the photos! I hate to say it but fell blindly in love!Still find it hard to comprehend in my moments that I am never going to meet this guy or be with this guy like the scamming emailer made me thought I would!
Ok,big deal I gott scammed but I got off lightly in terms of $$ and dont ever let anyone call you stupid because you fell in love with the guy in the photos and you trusted this scammer and only fell in love with the words he charmed you with! Even spoke on the phone like an american /portuguese spanish influenced Rios,as Im assuming the guy with rios on his army shirt in real life may even do!
This is what a military ID card looks like. This pic is off the web, not me. http://i.usatoday.net/news/_photos/2007/11/17/kentucky-deserterx.jpg I got it by googling US ARMY ID CARD.
Angie, I looked up SGT Steve Hughes and there is one, only one. Have him offer his unit name and his middle initial to confirm. Why no picture in uniform? Who no .mil address? I am looking at his address right here! I posted my email in a previous post if you wish to send me his ID.
The TS2 sat phone is expensive and VERY expensive to make calls with. I smell a scam. When in the sandbox AT&T gives s free calling cards and if you are online you can use skype. I don’t think this is going to end well.
The Canadian military does have the rank of Master Corporal, so there are ranks that may sound unusual to some of us. I can also see how autocorrect will change a typo or corporal to corporate. Just the same it is easy enough for anyone to google the ranks, units, and other information. I posted earlier how to verify the guy’s wife died 4 years ago like they happen to say a lot. We’re getting smarter as a group, but there are more people learning the hard way every day.
To Barbara: Corporate Sergeant Major? Hilarious he’s confusing the rank of Corporal with Corporate, anyway, there is no such thing. Even if he meant Corporal, that’s a long way from Sergeant Major, there is no such combination, corporal isn’t even a Sergeant yet it’s one rank below buck sergeant. Keep up the stories people. I’m sorry if it is at your expense, but I’m getting a kick out of learning what these creeps are trying to pass off as military sounding ranks and specialties. You should tell him that he should reclass to become an “In-Flight Missile Repair Technician”. Think about it.
It’s irritating to learn that this is actually happening.These people really are despicable. I was a sergeant in the army, served as a forward observer on a scout/sniper team and actually served in both Iraq and Afghanistan where I saw intense combat on both deployments. I see that some of these people are playing on people’s sympathy claiming to be wounded. Well, I was wounded by an enemy hand grenade in Iraq, and evacuated out of Afghanistan for other medical reasons, I know for a fact that the military has an extremey intricate system in place to rotate wounded soldiers back to the states. Also, I went on R&R during both deployments, and I can also tell you for a fact and with absolute certainty that NO soldier EVER has to pay one red cent out if their pocket to go home on rest and relaxation. It doesn’t matter if the soldier wants to go to Hawaii! And if you ever saw what a LT. Col. makes, you would be asking him to send you a ticket to Rio and to meet you there. Besides, if he has enough time to be communicating with you while he’s on a deployment then he’s not that awesome. You want to date the guys that are in the middle of nowhere on the Afghan/pakistan border who don’t even have the opportunity to use the internet or phone because 1) there isn’t a phone or a computer in the Korengal valley (aka the valley of death), and 2) they are getting shot at during the one hour that they have sctually on camp to refill on ammunition, sew up their uniform, top off on water, change out batteries, and stuff a couple meals in their packs before heading back out to climb in the mountains for another two weeks. Sorry to get off of the topic of the thread. If you have any suspicions about anybody claiming to be someone they are not, feel completely free to email me at: yarmehearty@gmail.com
I’ll be sure to look into them and run their name past friends of mine who have access to certain federal databases. Or if you just want to chat (and I will never ask you for a dime) I am single. I keep my Xoom tablet with me at all times and can Skype or Fring, or any other video chat services at any time day or night.
How can i send a copy of the ID to you to be checked please?
Dear Sir i have written to you before about the soldier i am in contact with a Sgt Steve Hughes. He told me he was a soldier at the very beginning and asked me if it was an issue for me. Although i have pictures of him, he never sent one in his uniform until recently that i asked. I have told him i am suspicious of him as yes i paid for a TS2 phone as he was supposedly going on tour and has told me each time that he has moved and where he is. He said he was going to prove to me that he was who he said he was and said he was going to forward a copy of his ID to me. Today i have received that email showing the card and yes it is him on it and the hand holding it is not a black hand!!! Can you tell if this is a fake one or is this a genuine soldier? But im still waiting for an email from a .mil address!!!!
A soldier who sends his sister to India for medical help? No way. Tell him you want him to e-mail you his orders reassigning him. Ask for rank, unit name, and a picture where he holds up a piece of paper saying “Hello Eliza!” Same for anyone who gets pics, ask for a personal one. The pics can easily be take from a ms or fb site.
Has anyone ever been contact be a Roy Byrant. Am new to this dating scam issue and was quite smitten by my guy. When I first started talking to him , he was posted in Afghan and then within weeks told me he was deployed to Darfur, Africia. I guess that is not unheard of, how does one go about finding out if this is ture? I am not going to go into all the details I am sure you know the whole drill of what happens. I had never sent him money as I faked stories of losing my ID.. ect… In the last month he has told me that his sister was taken to India for an emergency surgery and he could not access money for her to go. This I found quite odd but I guess not unheard of either. Is this guy now getting desperate. I am not about to do anything stupid… trust me.. However i want to know who is this poor guy is ,is he the scammer or is he the victim as I am . Is it possible to check this guy out…
Thank you Sharon for your reply. These scum bags are despicable.
I would also like to add (for all you other Ladies wondering if the person you are chatting to is true, beware) because the person posing as Major Daniel Knotts was very articulate and during the time that I chatted to him, I never once thought that he was anything other than educated. The photo’s I received from him are very believable, one with an Iraq Airforce plane in the background and a most recent one (just a month ago) show him with two Iraq soldiers and another American colleague. I had photo’s of him with his Son outside his house in America, driving in his car with his Son as well as photo’s of him in uniform with his name clearly visible. Another point I would like to add (on looking back) is that he very quickly encouraged me to continue chatting to him on MSN rather than the ‘It Takes Two’ dating site where we met initially and I never questioned why.
Anyone who has photos you can upload them to http://www.tineye.com and see if they have been placed elsewhere online. If you with to contact me directly my Army email address is my first name above, a period, then my last name as above, then @us.army.mil . If I typed it out the Internet spiders would spam me. :>
And see how my address ends in .mil? If you are emailing a military guy, his should too!
MSG McLaughlin,
I do have photos of Barcinas showing his rank and unit patch, but do not know how to get them to you. Please let me know and I will send you a couple.
Thanks, Pam
Further to my previous comment – the name might be reversed to Kennedy Flint.
Tks.
Has anyone ever been contacted by a man claiming to be a Corporate Sergeant Major named Flint Kennedy. Met on an on-line dating site. He must think I am a pretty stupid Canadian. He sent me a lot of photos and the one photo he sent was him in his fatigues and I Zoomed in on the name on the lapel and it was Ramos. He has been emailing me for a month – has not asked for money – but I can best describe him as a “Hallmark card”. He is quite the writer – and yes – there are typos – or spelling errors. Anyone who says their name is one thing and sends a photo of themselves with another name on their shirt – is none-to-bright.
Comments anyone!
I have been scammed found me on bikerornot.com…His photo was him in army uniform on a harley…Going by the Name Sergeant Tom Collins Honolulu infantry team leader with company B 1st Battalion 27 Th infantry regiment Wolf Hounds 2ND Striker Brigade Combat Team Warrior 25Th infantry Division MND Kabul…
Sgt. Tom Collins@yahoo & Sgt Tom Collins4000@yahoo.com
He worked on me two months to get money…
BECAREFULL HE IS VERY CHARMING…
MSG McLaughlin,
I do have photos of Barcinas showing his rank unit patch, but do not know how to get them to you. Please let me know and I will send you a couple.
Thanks, Pam