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”.
Meet REAL Military Singles at MilitarySinglesConnection
Started in 2002, Military Singles Connection is the premier destination for dating for the thousands of men and women who serve or have served in the armed forces. Other military dating services can’t compete with the number of quality members or features you’ll find when you join the top Military singles dating site.
Military Singles Connection provides online personals services, including online profiles and photographs of single men and women, chat rooms and an instant messenger – to enable others to communicate in real time, a private mailbox to enable others to exchange personal messages, a public forum to enable others to exchange messages and information… and more!
Join Military Singles Connection today!
I want to thank you for this web page. I was contacted by Sgt. Robert Jenkins on facebook first. Have been talking to him just for a few weeks. I thougjt it weird for him asking for money. So I started checking around. I know now that it is a scram.
I still have pic if you want to see them
Hey ladies has anyone heard of sgt.ronnie wells he try to scam but lucky for me am selfish with my money and already have the love my life in my house I love my Mexican he is all I need what more I need pleaseeee don’t fall these jackass ladies you keep your money don’t send to them I say go get drunk and believe at least you did something for yourself god bless you all
Hey Linda, did you already find out about the e-mail finder? There most be a way we can use this without paying for it i guess, (we payed the scammer, that will be more than enough lol) thanks for your respons.
i have a quastion for all; is there anybody who knows what happend to the woman with the nameRandi Neff, (2 april 2011), i was worried for what she wrote,
Dear MSG Robert Mc Laughlin, am still scamming my scammer, altough it is getting very boring to listen to declarations of “love”, and i am most of the time almost sleeping while chatting, and the more i play hard to get, the more he is trying harder,(distract them with talking about sex is also keeping them busy for a long time, and in the meantime you can do other things like watch TV, and keep them away from an other victem, so i took that advice you gave in the the message on this site, thanks a lot lol) but anyway, what i want to ask you, in a very angry mood i delete all the pictures from this scammer, and the only one i have left now is the one you can see if you chat whit a person on messanger, the profilepicture, ( Sorry for my grammar, but am Dutch lol)
this pic he is using is from a soldier kissing his little son goodbye, and it breaks my heart if i think of the real person, that is on this foto , but i don’t know how to check this pic, if you click on it nothing happens, do you know a way to investegate? Thank you
And for everybody, i just discoverd this site,and it helps a lot, and sometimes i sit here reading it all, and it makes me want to cry, but i also have respect for all of you, coming out in the open with this, it took me a while but am relieved now that i told my best friends about it. And the most valuable advice i read from you, MSG Robert Mc Laughlin, is if you’ve been asked for sending money, it is alway’s a scammer, and i guess they will be soon smarter and also can make a false mil.address to, i am afraid, so even when you’ve been asked to send money for ther childeren, and your heart breaks by thinking of the poor child is not go to school bcuz there is no money for schoolfees or the child is sick,don’t fall for it, it is never the truth.(i know because i fall for the storie)
My scammer went from Afghanistan to…..ofcourse Libye, and i asked him, do you have to pay for retire the Army, ( he told me he wrote a letter to the department, he wants to marrie me and therefor he needs to retire haha)and he said; no why do you ask?
I guess they already know that we don’t buy this s… anymore, but soon he will come up with an other reason for me to send money again, well am ready for playing the “game” for a little while.
beware lady lt Mark lee its a scamer
Add another name to watch out for- Perez Cabrera He was talking to me acting all nice, said he had a son wanting to talk to him and now asking for me to help him subscribe to a phone so he can contact him and me. Red flag there.
Everywhere in the world..there are good and bad people.. please do not generalize all Nigerians as being fraudsters. if any of them say they are anywhere in Africa, let me know. on this issue i represent good Africans and together we try to clean all the mess some of our brothers have caused. lets work together to at least reduce the rate.
The worst suggestion you could ever give a scammer is referring him to someone in the country he claims he is. In Nigeria, the government is fighting so hard to curb this ill trend, but the government too is corrupt, first of, its not only Nigerians who do this scam but many other countries. about this dating scams, its psychological, most of these people are graduates and claim joblessness which i see doesn’t justify what they do. Believe me or not, they have diabolical means also and it’s believed that it works, as MSG Robert McLaughlin said..ask for .mil address, they have a way of getting out of so many questions, if the admin would permit my post, i can give you a break down of how all these are done, the different ways and how they operate and of course the best way to handle these scams. I am African, and i know my people well,it breaks my heart to see what is going on, in my quest for love also i have had my own bitter experience. Men also are victims, so we should be able to touch every aspect of this evil and create awareness. as for the ip address thing.. they have VPN to settle that, as for other questions you ask them.. google is ever ready to provide, talk about cam..they download interviews and place on manycam software, phone lines, they buy magic jack or pay for skype calls… for great tips on how to really nail any scammer keep reading my post, you can find me also on fb with my black face..representing the good Africans against scam. sorry to all victims, your life is not over yet, we can turn the table around.
To Rosie-
Thank you for your note. Not the same photos, actually the photos sort of warned me. i was thinking why would a man this ‘good looking’ will resort to online dating to find someone ‘special’. and no i am not distressed. i had a good laugh about the whole situation. too good to be true!!!
Maybe we can work out a script on how to deal with these scammers. the next one will get a taste of his own medicine. Ladies, do not get angry..Get Even…
Margaret….thanks for the advice, if it wasnt for this site i think i would b out of alot of money….and yes u r right about different ppl talking to u, pretending to b the one person, i picked up on that, one day i would b HONEY with and o, the next day HUNEY with a u….the other lady that is talking to the same guy doesnt want to believe he is a scammer even though she has been warned…i just want to say thank tou all for saving me
please watch out for powell barry on wayn.com e mail powellbarry33@yahoo.com
he tried a scam claiming he had 900 000 usd and that the money was in Malaysia I would need to pay 22 700 usd to transfer to my account because I was not resident in malaysia He wanted me to fly over and met the peoiple minding his money He claimed it was the Malaysia legislature He has a pic on wayn.com
if you want to look try this without having to sign up
http://wwww.wayn.com/profiles/powellbarry He is still active The Pic there is NOT him Scammers never have a profile on wayn and lately that site has been bad for scammers
please dangerous james rellinger he is scammer.he write he is in bagdad this is not in bagdad. sorry my english i am from austria
I just had to tell you, that Maj. Gen Brooks has just told me he was with the capture group who killed Bin Laden! OMG!!!!!!!!!!! I just can’t believe it. He wants me to be his friend and he will tell me all the details of his death… How funny. He must be grinning from ear to ear, well not as much as us here hey? The fool! I think I like playing their games! Only thing is, this can be a huge time waster. But after the first big shock for me, and it was a huge shock, I did not even suspect a thing, I want revenge on these low lifes and if I can play mind games with them as they did me, I am happy!
Major General Vicent Brooks has contacted me via Netlog. The real Major General Vincent K. Brooks is married and currently serving as the commanding general for the 1st Infantry Division. But according to the scammer he is in Afghanistan on a peace keeping mission and is divorced! So there you go. These scammers are just fools. I am going to pull this guys chain for as long as I can and then drop him like a dead weight!
IF WESTERN UNION COULD BE MADE TO TELL THE FBI ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
TO REVEAL WHO SIGNS FOR TNE MONEY AND A CAMERA THERE TO RECORD THE SCAMMMER
IT IS A WELL DOCUMENTED FACT SCAMMERS WOULD DISAPPEAR OVERNIGHT
I ASK THIS QUESTION WHY CANT SOMETHING BE DONE?
AS RALPH WALDO EMERSON QUOTE: IF WE SHOUT AT THE GATE LONG ND LOUD ENOUGH WE SURE GET AN ANSWER
tHAT IS WHAT SCAMMERS ALWAYS INSIST ON PAYMENT BY WESTERN UNION
IN NZ CLIENTS ARE ASKED FIRST DO WE KNOW AND MET THIS PERSON
IF THE ANSWER IS NO THEN MUCH IS DONE TO DSICOURAGE AND MONEY NOT SENT
it does not matteer where these scammers are they can be traced by IP They cannot escape Many Nigerian scammers have been found and prosecuted One victim was a lady in Australia Her scammer was traced he got 19 years jail
hip hip hoooray
eefje….i had the same problem with e-mail finder, u had to pay, i thought i had done something wrong as well, may b some one can tell us how to get tne email off that site
YES AND THERE IS POWELL BARRY TO WEATCH TOO
I have now,
this past week, been contacted by someone named Anthony (Tony). He began contacting me on “Are You Interested” from Facebook. He claims to be a teacher in Thailand. I left “Are You Interested” right after our first contact but I could see he was leaving two or three messages in there, daily. After six weeks i thought what is this person trying to say and contacted him through his private email that he had given me from our original contact.His reply only was sign up on Messenger Live as a friend. I declined and said you may contact me through my gmail. He then asks me to be friends on Badoo. I checked that out and find it has many scammers reported on it. He keeps trying to lure me away from email which is what they do because you can trace emails but not chats.I believe his email was Kinahan44@yahoo.com if i remember correctly. Thanks to Walter, i now am aware, and seem to have a sixth sense. This one is going no where with me, I am not even going to go there. So beware of this one also. I just have a feeling, he is a scammer. They do use different names and pictures and can be the same person contacting you. Can you believe?? Some research sites do cost a fee if you are willing to pay it. I did use “JustAnswer.Military Law” regarding military laws on retirement. Was told most likely my scammer was a Nigerian national. I still break down at times and have a good cry. This has been a very painful and disappointing experience regarding Walter Bruston. I wish I could find the true identity of the soldier he posed as. I know lots of you wish the same in your cases. I am going to search and it may happen,and it may not, but I am retired and have lots of time.
RUTH so sorry you were caught up with the so called robert burgess i thought he was working under another name now as i havent seen the name for over a year.thank goodness you didnt send any money to him. im afraid i wiped all the photos off my computer but they were of a guy sitting at a desk holding a pen. i hope you are not too distressed by this its very upsetting but you will get over it in time. you will probably be aproached again by another name but now you know the score just humour them for a while as i do. the way i see it is while they are wasting their time with me some other poor lady is not being conned into sending money or getting messed up emotionally. good luck
Here is an update from my situation regarding Walter Bruston. First to Linda posted May 1, 2011 3:03am. Read my letter please dated April 19, 2011. My scammer got me hooked emotionally and I mean i really fell for this guy. I did not know about scammers at first. He convinced me he could come to me on leave, but had to pay $3000 for the processing and for the flight. Right after I sent this he emailed me a copy of two forms. One was the itinerary of a flight and the other a form that said “Leave Bonus” listing different amts of money and that i was the beneficiary and must sign the form and return it. I took both forms to the local Recruiting Office here and was told they were both not real. The flight ticket info had a plane that did not land at my airport, and i verified all planes landing here. Second they told me there was no such thing as a leave bonus or any such kind of form that i showed them. He said it would not say Dept of Defense anyway , it would say Dept of the Army and that they were just trying to get a copy of my signature. With that they could do great harm to me. He already had my birthdate, address and phone number. I have been told the Army does not make our men pay for these things, like leave and retirement as my scammer is trying to make me believe. I am still in contact, as i am doing much investigating about scammers. I am enjoying twisting his head around and around on his shoulders, making him think he is now going to get $6000 from me for processing his retirement. I promise him, and then come back with why i could not make it happen. I hope I am making his day or job a living hell with me. I have now told him i have to sell my car to get the money, and i’ll say i have a buyer, and then I say the check was bad, and i just keep him tormented.He just keeps on coming back with the “I love you more than life crap”, and I smile, and plan what to lead him on with next. I never knew i had such vengeance in me, but i fell deeply in love with the soldier and this guy or woman’s words. Oh yes, they use women also, and they use more than one person some times. I have noticed a little different personality on occasion and even said something to the person, but they ignore any statement they want. In the last month “it” has begun to use a different sign off than the previous one did in the early months. I have been on with this person since Jan. 1, 2011 and now can spot little differences in the chats. So I could even be talking to a whole different person than originally. Use your computer, there are many sites you can go on to get information. Google emailfinder, put in the email address, get the IP number. Google anything you can think of that would pertain to Army. I just started cold turkey and have found many sites that are helpful. This is one. These guys are a virus, there to harm us not love us.
I have found the real soldiers in some of these instances. They say thank you, some know about the scams and some do not. There are millions of photos out there to steal. If it wasn’t a soldier it’d be something else.
Keep telling the dating sites they have scammers. You can also go to the BBB online and report the issue there, they will give the site a lower rating if they do not clean up their act. That usually gets them to move faster.
Do you remember the days when very few computers had anti-virus software? Now they all have it, and need it. One day we may all have awareness of people the same way, where they will be checked out and not believed on their face.
BIGGEST RULE: If they do not have an email address ending in .mil, then they are not military!
If u are still thinking that those posts u rec’d were so remarkable, etc. I say wake up like I did last night. Being still troubled & rightfully so with these Nigerian scammers using dead soldiers as in my case, I googled Nigerian military scammers and amongst the hits, etc I cam up with this info: those posts/letters are not even “real”! Apparently if u are not able to write a love letter you can go to a site (many) on the internet and they have them all ready to go. So to add insult to deep injury, I discovered that these soul less devils lift verbatim letters & quotes from the love letter sites to the posts they send to us. Now I am just shaking my head & thanking the Lord I was not completely duped. I think my savior was in part the fact that I am trying to live on USA social security (you know, the one they want to change/do away with/etc.) and a very tiny pension from my late husband) and the fact that I am “old” by some standards. There was but an 8 yr difference in ages and in my I thought that wasn’t a problem what with this being the age of the “cougar”, LOL. Well check it out. I don’t know where I got the idea that I was “special” even after the fact. But the sun is shining, the sky is blue and it’s Spring. Hearts heal and hope springs eternal. May good have mercy on their souls. I hope the TSA is screening any Nigerians who are entering the USA cuz they have my address & phone number! (I looked at a 22LR revolver yesterday — no kick but I might be able to kill that ground hog that is now eating clover on my lawn and digging holes where ever he pleases. Get my anger out somehow. LOL) God is looking out for us ladies. We found this Sgt’s site & there are others. I think, really, that there are more good people in this world than bad and poverty has nothing to do with it. Just last night someone came to the house & asked if they could pick wild leeks and, of course, I said yes. God gave them to me and I have much more than I need. Take heart.
Hi,
Just wanted to say thanks for this site. It has made me alot more cautious of anyone I am contacted by online. Soldier or not. There are scammers out there.
Just be aware ladies!