Scammers pretending to be members of the military are wooing women on internet dating and social networking sites…but they aren’t looking for love – they are looking for money.
According to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command, these scammers are using real military photos to create fake profiles and they have received hundreds of complaints in the last year about the scam. Some scammers have even used photos of military members that have passed away.
The Command reports that con artists build relationships with women and then start asking for money for things like internet use, phones, leave papers, money to enable them to come visit the victim, etc. Once the woman sends the money, they never hear from the man again.
“To systemize a scam based on someone’s pure emotion and admiration for our troops is extremely appalling,” said Jim Hegarty BBB president and CEO. “While the environment of online dating has become very popular, it has simultaneously become much too trusting.”
Many of these emails have been traced back to foreign cyber-cafes in Africa but the individuals operating these scams are difficult, if not, impossible to track down.
At least one local dating service has seen this scam on their radar so be careful when on such a website and never, ever send money to someone you’ve never met.
If you feel you may have been a victim of such a scam, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov / 800-251-3221 and the Federal Trade Commission: ftc.gov / 1-877-438-4338.