This is a reasonably new variety of fraud that has surfaced in the Online Dating world. Like 99% of other cons, the intent is to filter money out of you through deception. The scammer will pose as a member of the armed forces and be posted overseas somewhere. Apart from making you feel a sense of obligation to communicate because of the nature of their work they typically have some second tier sob story to tell as well. They play on the fact that women are not only attracted to men in the services but also that they are risking their lives to defend the nation.
I heard of an experience recently where a girl met a guy online who was stationed in a 'Hot Zone' in the Middle East. At first she wasn't really attracted to him but thought it wouldn't hurt to chat, seeing as he was on active military service. He told her that his wife had an affair and took off leaving him with an infant daughter who was being cared for by his mother back home. He was particularly good at his job as a con man and before too long this girl was falling for him. They spent hours online together every day for well over a week and slowly reeled her into the con.
Then came the main play, he had some bad news! His unit was moving into a remote area and there wasn't going to be any Internet service there. He had a plan as to how they could keep in touch. There was a private engineering company near where they would be stationed and they would be able to provide Internet access so they could keep in touch. He gave her an email address and told her she needed to be very careful with the information for security reasons. She contacted the company and a day or so later received a reply with an attached form asking for her personal details including name, address, phone number and service provider. At this point she should have been a tad concerned but she had already accepted this guy as legitimate.
Unwittingly she filled out the form with both his and her information and returned it to the company. When she received the reply the alarm bells started to ring. The company was asking her to wire $1,500 to a private account to get the service up and running. The penny dropped and she now realized that she had been caught up in a fraudulent event. Fortunately no money was ever paid but her personal details where now in the hands of an obviously unscrupulous person. Apart from the hurt and humiliation she was embarrassed and angry. It turned out that the deception had actually originated from some organized crime group in Nigeria where these cons are prolific.
As I said, this guy was very good at what he did and had her convinced that he was for real. His English was perfect, he knew geographical landmarks in the area he said he came from, he even knew which airlines serviced connections between where they lived. At no point though did they ever speak over the phone. His English may well have been perfect on-screen but the whole thing couldn't have worked if there had been any communication by phone or web cam.
This is a relatively easy con to set up! The perpetrator simply accesses a photo of a guy in the military off the Internet, and uses it to set up accounts on Internet dating sites. The money requested was to be paid into a personal account, not an account in a company name, and that alone would have been a red flag!
On top of everything else you have to spare a thought for the soldiers who's photos are used. Essentially their identity has been stolen so they become victims as well. They would have no idea that their photos are being used in this way. For warned is for armed, be careful of any contact with military service personal as this type of fraud is being reported with increasing regularity. I feel sorry for the guys in service who are actually legitimate users of Online Dating sites, there is a certain stigma attached now and they will be scrutinized more than any other potential partners as a result.
I have heard of other variants to this military scam, they work in much the same way as the Nigerian method. I was told about a girl who met a guy in the Army that was also stationed in the Middle East. He used a different approach that was all about siphoning money. He told the girl he had been chatting with that they weren't able to cash their pay checks where they were and asked if he sent it to her would she cash it and wire him the money. The way this works is simple, they talk the victim into sending the money before they actually receive the proceeds from the cleared check for some reasonably valid reason. They may be short on funds, or owe someone money. When the check arrives and the attempt is made to cash it the scam is complete as it will inevitably be fraudulent and there will be no funds in the account.
It's sad that these guys who are serving overseas have been drawn into this crime. They are over seas risking all to protect us and keep us safe. It would be a lonely occupation and the online connection with potential partners would be very important to them. This con taints their general credibility and will make it harder in the future for them to make connections. It's a real shame, and even though it's important to be aware, always spare a thought for the guys in service around the world. Be careful if you are approached by a military man but don't assume they are all con men out to get your money.
No comments:
Post a Comment