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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It is very sad and my heart goes out to the ladies that actually sent money to these scumbags. I, too, was ready to downsize my home and move to Houston! Yes, I felt like an idiot BUT we are loving and trusting women that expect people to treat us the way we would treat them. Kinda messes up one’s trust issues that’s for sure. But as some others have said….What’s done is done and can’t be undone. It’s a VERY HARD lesson learned and we MUST forgive ourselves and try to regroup!! Who knew there were such evil a**holes out there!! I sure didn’t! I had never heard of “romance scams”. We must be strong and carry on!! Otherwise…they would win!
Margaret,
Isn’t it amazing how are hearts can just be so taken in by some fake scam? It just ins’t a very nice thing to do to anyone ever. We are all very smart ladies, and in your situation of being ill, this really makes me angry. Remember, we always get chances and choices in life:)..so really try and move forward. This should make you laugh. When Ithought my Scummer Scammer was heading my way I cleaned my house like never before. Looking back it makes me laugh at myself:) Move forward as best you can:)
Hi-I just wanted to say to Pam ,who post on May 2,that I know how you feel and I been there where yo are at.But I have to tell you that you have to forgive yourself in order to move on and you was smarter then that guy and you found him out and got out before it was to late.Now its time to heal and move on.I know there so many bad guy s out there that want to hurt you.But now you know what to look for and never be scam again.See you are better then them and pleae forgive yourself and if you need a shoulder to cry on then you can have mind.Let me know if you need to talk.I was sacm too .Take care
To Margaret Rodgers — Thank you so much for replying to my post. I don’t know why I cannot heal. I feel like such a fool. I think I can deal with the emotional betrayal, but I’m having difficulty with the financial lose I suffered….and it was quite a bit. I know it was a vulnerable time in my life (cancer, just finished radiation…and left with a massive scar on my face) — and think it felt good to believe I was attractive to someone. ugh! What a mess. I only wish I knew these scams existed. I only wish I knew. I don’t know how to forgive myself.
hello ladies! i once fell in to the scams,but since then i have been keeping track of the once i came across, here are a couple of names for you . garrett nicholas,anthonio akilo, james michealxx, stephen xx, john julius smith, stevengoslowsky, robert dantos, all scammers . i just wanted too post these so if anyone comes across familiar too anyone . i will keep u informed .
MSG Robert McLaughlin:
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I did fall prey to a scammer. I did some research and found a pic of him with a different name. Fortunately all I lost was some pride. But on the positive I have some very nice pics of a very handsome fellow and some beautifuly written emails LOL.
In his last email he states… Honey, why don’t you apply for a leave on my behalf since other people are doing that to get there family and loved ones home or what do you think, I heard this from one of my comrade yesterday but he said the person applying on my behalf must be a girlfriend, fiancee or relative. You can write the general in charge to apply for a leave on my behalf but you have to let him know that you are my girlfriend or fiancee that you want me home for us to plan our future together and that my kids also needs me.
I grew up as a Military Brat and have siblings in the forces as well. I am not so naive to believe this is the proper way to get leave. I had my doubts but this was the clencher!
I would like to name a couple of websites that may be of help to others inquiring about scammers. The one where I found mine is called http://www.youreittoday.com this is one where you type in their email and it tells you if they have been reported by others. Very Helpful in my search!!
There is also romancescam.com and http://www.spokeo.com allow you to do an email search, and tineye.com which is one where you can do a photo search.
My scammer used the email mavellous5@yahoo.com and goes by the name Gary Dabney or Gary Jones that I know of.
I hope that your readers will find this information helpful!
Thank you again,
Esme
to D Ann: The care pkg had to go somewhere else other than to a military address because there was no military address. Ghana is one of the top countries for scammers and this is probably where he is. I have had scammers use the word “stuffs” with me before. Remember they make mistakes in grammar. I remember finding that word odd when it was used on me.I found a Bill Ruddock on Face book but it had nothing much on it. Just he was military which was spelled wrong and was male. A red flag for sure if the one. Yes never accept goods, money, gold, or anything coming from them. It is part of their scam. I laughed about his mistake contacting you again as James Davenport. Hope he felt real stupid. There are more scammers on dating sites than real people.
To Imogen Smith: he is a scammer. First he could not spell the name of his camp correctly. Second the Military do not pay for their leave. Leave is earned. So many days per month of service. All he has to do is ask for it.
To MSG Robert McLaughlin: Thanks for your reply. I was deeply suspicious from right off the start. I assume scammer first before anything real. I wanted to know for sure what 00A was and thank you. So funny, as he claimed to be Special Forces Agent also. I asked him the standard questions, and got his Yahoo email id, and that he was in Kabul. He just ignored everything I asked him but he had a dozen financial questions for me. I laughed to myself but gave him nothing either….lol. I deleted him and he has gone away.
To Pam: Sometimes you read something and it reminds you of the hurt you suffered. I know. There are moments when I too find tears in my eyes still. I just stop and remind myself what it really was. Remember your not alone in this. There are thousands of us out here. It is therapeutic for me to post on this website. To share my knowledge.All we can do is post our experiences on here and hope it helps someone else from making a mistake.
To Sandra Pattison: They either don’t answer at all, or give excuses like you say. That is of course because they don’t have the info your asking for, being a scammer.
I have noticed recently that these so called soldiers as they portray they are, always, always give some excuse when asked about their .mil address, some say its classified others say ‘top secret’…lol
I wish I found this site in 2009-2010. I couldn’t even click on “older comments” after reading several pages of recent posts….my stomach starting turning all over again. I though time healed wounds.
The guy who scammed used the name Richard Miller — one email was richardsky1@aol.com. He claimed he was in Afghanistan. He used photos of an actor who used to be in the Navy. I never knew romantic scams existed and fell for it. I was actually able to figure out 2-3 other victims, two I contacted and one contacted me. And I contacted my local police and the FBI, but to no avail.
After I called this guy’s bluff, he wanted to video chat with me. I agreed so I could capture a screen image of the scammer. So I actually have the scammer’s photo.
I know the same actor is still being impersonated by some scammer, but not sure if it is the same one.
Feb. 2013 I had a wink on Match.com it was from Sgt. Bill. He said he is a staff sgt. in the US Military in Kabul, Afganistan. The name he gave me was Sgt. Bill Ruddock 56 yrs (birthday March 30) born in GA moved to England when he was 11 years. His use of English is quite good. Some of his sentences are quite poetic. He said he teaches the orphaned kids in Kabul English and teaches them soccer. He said he has an 11 year old son (Jesse) in Australia his X wife passed in a car accident when the boy was 3 years. I offered (he never asked) to send a care package of personal items, cookies, candy. My first indication that something was not right was the address I was given. He said because he is in war zone the mail is picked up by a diplomat and I should e-mail this diplomat (Sir-Stephen) for directions for mailing my package. I went ahead and mailed the box. The address was to Ghana. My second clue was Sgt. Bill kept asking how long I thought it would take to get the stuffs. Is there such a word as “stuffs?” A couple of months have passed with him professing his love for me. Yeah right! A couple days ago he told me that he was in a hurry and dropped the laptop of one of his unit buddies. He felt just terrible. Ha! Now his buddy would not be able to interact with his own wife and kids. There was a long pause. I said, Were you wanting me to buy him a laptop? Boy he jumped right on that one. I, of course, told him that I didn’t have the money for something like that. He said he understood and he still loved me. He is coming back to the states May 5. Doubt that too. I checked him out on fb. He is not under the name Bill. He is under the name James with some of the pictures he sent to me. James fb is newly set up. It also appears to be a fake. When I asked him if Bill was short for William he said just Bill. The pictures he provided also appear on fb under several other first names with same last name. I also found these pictures on a military scammer site. The best for last ladies. Since he is coming back to the states on May 5 (no home address of his own) he wanted to send a box to me with his dress uniform, credit card and several gold bars and 3 large bags of gold dust. He posted a picture and I counted 25 gold bars. I told him that I would not accept responsibilty for this box. I still have him on the hook though he doesn’t communicate every day. I wanted to keep him going until I found a place to report his activities. Last week I decided to give Match another try. I was winked at almost immediately. A guy that used the name James Davenport was interested in talking to me. His first sentence was stated the exact way Bill would talk. Ding! Then there was a pause and he said that I looked familiar. He wanted to know what my name was. I told him I would not give out my name. Long pause. He typed do you know a Sgt. Bill. He is in my unit here in Kabul. I did say yes. He saw my picture on his Sgt. laptop. He really likes you. I was so tempted to say…how are Bill. I will not be using Match any longer. It is obviously full of scammers. I hope this will help another woman that gets contacted by this person. Watch you backs and bank accounts ladys.
Esme,
There is no such thing as a ‘Special Force Agent.” As for seeing if he is legit, he will have a military email account ending in .mil, have him send you an email from it. WE ALL HAVE ONE AND IT IS NOT CLASSIFIED. Also ask him to send you a picture of him holding a sign with your name on it. people who steal pictures cannot duplicate this easily.
Margaret,
00A is what you have when you are still in Basic Training and do not have a job yet. Ask him for his .mil email address.
Rhoda,
Guys do not talk like that, it is a scammer who says what women WANT to hear.
Good girl Dawn Richards! The way they write is a BIG thing to watch for. It’s the small things but do pay attention to that. I would excuse it off as being in a hurry and just misspelling BUT if you pay attention, you”ll notice the odd ways that things are typed. Def not the American way of wording things.
One way I was able to find out if these soldiers pics are real was too Google Image Search! I learned this from watching the tv show Catfish on MTV. And it actually works…
I have recently been in contact through Facebook with someone calling themselves Bobby Clinton, posing a marine currently serving in Afghanistan at Camp Eggers although they called it Camp Eager. This is a scammer they tried all the usual tricks like, something they called camp call and then apply for leave for them at a cost, then the when I come on leave I will set up a business with you. Told them I was financially strapped for cash, tried to get me to take a loan out for the camp call thing. If anyone else had any dealings with this scammer I would love to hear from you. The email they use is bobbyclinton82@yahoo.com. Take care all I’m only just becoming aware of how rife this scamming is.
Hi I have just read Collens correspondence and it could have been the guy I was speaking to, some of the words she used were exactly the same, must have come off of a prompt list. He went by the name of Capt Marcus Harry, based he said at Camp Eggers, Kabul, Afghanistan. He said he was born in the UK and moved to the US when he was 10, became a US citizen and joined the army at 20. He romanced me on line making me think that it was the real thing, sent photo’s of himself and his ‘son’. His English was broken on times, but other times perfect so thought it was just the stress of being there. Sent me love songs saying this was how he feels, wanted marriage and said he loved me and to my eternal shame I feel for it. Until one day he asked me if I owned my own home and said his accounts were frozen because he was in a war zone. Alarm bells rang, I asked for his APO address and was told he could not give it to me for security reasons. So went on http://armystongstories.com/army-stories/camp-eggers and got the APO for Camp Eggers and dropped him a line, if I get the letter returned, he’s not there. But if I get a reply there, well what to do. There may well be a ‘real’ Capt Marcus Harry out there and he might not know someone is using his details. Boy was I shocked at how many woman have fallen for the same trap. There’s a lot of info to be gained on this website if anyone cares to look at it.
I am so glad I found this site. I was doing a image search on google earlier and came upon some pretty fishy leads regarding military men scamming woman. I believe I have encountered a scammer and want to make sure Im not incorrect. He goes by the name of Kelvin Jones Morris – he says he is stationed in Afganistan originally from Bullhead, Arizona. I actually got a friend request from him about a month ago on Facebook. I checked out his profile and it just shows a picture of him and that’s it. I get a message from him on chat and we started talking. He told me he was 39yrs old from Bullhead, Arizona but orginally from Castro Villa in California. Okay, that sounds pretty normal conversation, right? What sorta got me was – when he asked where Im originally from? I mentioned Las Vegas and he didn’t even know where that was? and Bullhead is like almost one hour and a half from Vegas. Then when I questioned him bout not knowing where Las Vegas was – he comes back with this line about not growing up in Arizona, but in California. But earlier he just told me he lived in Bullhead most of his life??? He told me he’s been married for like 8 years and he has an 11 year old son. He said his wife died in a fatal car accident. So we got on the subject about kids. I am a single mother with two kids – I asked him where does his son stay when he is in the service? he said at some Nanny Care place in Bullhead. We had a few more conversations about birthdays. Which I now feel like a fool about discussing. Anyways, at the end of the conversation he gives me his email address Kelvin.morris2000@yahoo.com to keep in touch with him on yahoo. Then five minutes later – he asks for my email so he can keep in touch with me, I never gave it to him I just said I would get in touch with him. And he asks when will that be LOL I made up some lie about being busy. There were more then enough red flags to make me wonder if this guy was real or fake. So that is why I am writing to warn others of this guy!
I have recently joined Zoosk which is a dating site. I met a man claiming to be in the Army on deployment to Africa. I’m curious as to how I can find out if he’s for real. I have added him to my yahoo messenger and his picture there is of him while in uniform with his two daughters that he claims to have. He has sent me several pics in email conversations that we have had and his face matches both. I have searched on romancescam.com and not found him on there. I have also searched on asp.militarygear.com and not found him or his user name. So I can only assume if he is a scammer he has not been caught yet.
Here is a bit of what he has told me.
{I work in the USA allied forces as a special force agent, I’ m presently on deployment with the US Peace Keeping Force Unit here in Africa. “Let me say that I am an Army reservist who has been called to active duty, have been here for 8 months now.} also from another email he sent {I would like you to know that my job here in Nigeria is very dangerous and all you can be doing for me right now is to be praying for me that i come back to the states safe and sound. I work with the US Peace Keeping Force Unit here in Nigeria against the Boko Haram. After the Christmas 2011 bombings carried out by Boko Haram, President Barack Obama’s office issued a statement that confirmed that the U.S. and Nigeria were cooperating at a senior level against the terrorist group which as a result brought me down here.} He states that he was living in CO before he deployed.
My questions I guess are
1) How do I find out if he is legit?
2) How do I know if the pictures of him in uniform are legit? Also he sent a pic with other military members that look as if they are part of the French troops. Which make me think, maybe he is for real??
3) If you are in the reserves as he has stated would there be an Armory (base) near him?
I’m not sure how all this military stuff works.
Please let me know what you think and what I should do.
Thank you
I was contacted by someone calling himself Benjamin Mixon – email id of general.benjaminmixon@hotmail.com. I was sent 4 pic’s and copy of a passport. After I googled one of the pictures, I found this picture has many names attached to it on the internet. He is on FB using many different names and is on many dating sites using different names.He lists places of residence everywhere from Canada, to UK, to USA. Some of the names used are: David Young, Arnold Brown, Warren Wilson, Joe wilson, Alex Ray, and Richard Moris. Uses Benjamin Nomafo on FB. His emails trace back to Accra Ghana, (1) to Portugal, and (1) to Germany. Looks like many different scammers using the same picture. Be aware. Claimed to be a General but needed money from me to pay up his back child support…..LMAO.
Went on uniform .com. A soldier John Correy sent me his yahoo messenger address, but I found him on facebook. The same stories he claimed to be educated in Dallas and lived in Manchester with his son and uncle. Alot of what he told me didn’t add up. Then came the fake email to contact him in Afghanistan deployed there for another for months he needs to hear my voice. johncorrey60@yahoo.com don’t fall for it. Facebook he has two status on there set up last year.
to MSG Robert McLaughlin: : Robert I have someone who claims to be Sgt. Steven Harrelson, in Kabul, in the service now 15yrs. I asked him his MOS and he gave me 00A Duties Unassigned. Is there such a category ? I’m thanking you in advance and appreciate your reply.
Thanks for your response Margaret, In the past few weeks i have been recieving more and more requests from soldiers who a few have stated that troops are being deployed to Africa as of last week, yet nothing on the news seems very strange to me before it was always Afghan or Iraq or Libya now it seem Lagos Nigeria is a favourite among them, i know there is some trouble over there with the rebels but had no idea U.S Soldier were deployed…