scam?

A friend of mine was contacted by a John Cook on a dating website. When I read his first email to her, I immediately thought scam. But then his second email didn't have the red flags for me as the first one did. Here are copies of the two emails. He sent both through his yahoo account rather than the dating site. ([email protected]) Thoughts?

Hello,
Its so good to hear from you .I really dont know where to start from when it comes to telling you about my self..But anyways i would start with my name..I am John Cook by name..Was born in PA ..Am 6 feet tall .I am army for the US millitary but right now i 'm in afghan due for retirement by April and i am planning to start my own business so what do u do for living ...., whats your best colour ..what do u like to do when u are less busy ..what kind of music you like ..I have been married once and divorced ..,and ever since i have been more into what i love doing for a living,i have gotten into a few relationships but nothing really to write home about.i have a kid i like to spend most of my free days with my kid going to the movies, dinning out, amusement parks, weekend getaways,reading with her and doing whatever else sounds like fun. I'm looking to meet a woman that's down to earth,great conversationalist, has good sense of humor, outgoing,
ambitious. Relationships are a beautiful thing when entered into together with open hearts and honesty.So don't waste my time and yours.I'm serious when it comes to matters of the heart.i really want to get connected.well i guess thats all about me.If i have in no way put you off then i hope to hear from you soonest
Till then stay blessed,
John

the second email:

hello
how are you ..I first have to say I spent the last couple of hours writing this awesome note only to lose it when I clicked on send, because I used too many characters. I hope that I can re-capture my thoughts.
Today, I had some quiet time, no television, no computer, and no telephones. For the first time in days, it was so still, I could hear myself think. My mind was racing with all of the things that I wanted, but, didn't get to say yesterday. I guess if there is one major thing that I want you to know about me is that my life is simple. I am not a complicated person.
I am a shy person. My home is my sanctuary and comfort zone. Most of the times I am happy to be at home, watching television/ DVD's, listening to music, or reading a book. My favorite movie genre is political thrillers. I am definitely a conspiracy theory nut..lol. I like dramas with murder, mayhem, and intrigue. I am not a big fan of horror flicks or love stories. I love all kinds of music, but my favorite is R&B. I like to go out to dinner, the movies, theater, and to see modern/classical dance. My favorite food is anything mixed with chicken. My favorite color is blue, no specific reason it just speaks to me. I like to wear colors that are mostly blue and black. But I must say at present, the majority of my wardrobe is black, because black goes with everything and is also slimming. I am a social drinker and do occasionally go out with my friends. I like shopping (grocery and clothes), and wish I could order everything I need online (I know that you can order groceries online, but you can't be brand specific, unless that has changed).
well in the military i'm LT and i also the all works on the computer more like an analyst ..have been in the service all my life ..since i was 19..when i am out i am going to start a restaurant ..my daughter is 7yrs old her name is Kimberly ..and i have not seen her much because i am always been deployed ..well i am glad this is the last though .


I have two great parents who are deeply passed rooted in the church and provided me with a good life growing up. "Train a child up in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will never depart from it". Proverbs 22:6. Even in my darkest moments, and when it felt as if my life was out of control, I never lost my faith. One day I just got tired of bad relationships and living an unfulfilled life. As people say "I just got tired of being sick and tired" and I renewed my commitment to God, and slowly learned what it meant to be obedient. I have always believed in God the supreme power, but I didn't have a personal relationship with him. I still believed that I controlled my life. God dealt with the big things, and I dealt with the little things, like career, money, and relationships. It took awhile for me to finally see the importance of submitting to God's will, and allowing Him to control and plan for my life.
One of the the things I prayed for was a wife. When I left this task to God, I immediately felt at peace. God knows my heart, and knows I want to be equally be yoked with a woman who understands the awesome responsibility of marriage...please Robin can you tell me more about you too ..i wanna know everything about you too and what you do for living as well ..thanks
john

Welcome!
Your instinct is correct. This looks very typically like a romance scammer impersonating someone from the Military.

I did some searching for key phrases from the two emails and didn't find matches. I may not have searched the correct phrases to find hits but what I believe the scammer has done is to take pieces of emails written to him by another victim and re-use them. If that is not the case, he has definitely copied parts from somewhere (not showing online) as they look very much like they are spliced together.

Look at the second email. There are two distinct writing styles. At the end of the first half of the email, there are a few sentences with a decline in writing skill and the use of ellipses (. . . . ). The same happens at the end of the second section of the email.

This bit, particularly, strikes me as likely having been written by a woman:

like to wear colors that are mostly blue and black. But I must say at present, the majority of my wardrobe is black, because black goes with everything and is also slimming.

and does not seem consistent at all with someone currently serving in the military in Afghanistan.

If you are able to retrieve email headers from these emails, we can help you try to locate the country they originated it. It won't be Afghanistan. More likely they were sent from West Africa or Malaysia, where many of these scammers operate from.
If you need help retrieving headers, just let us know what type of email program your friend uses and we'll get you instructions.

I copied the full header from the email he sent to her and then she forwarded to me.

header removed -Jillian

Thank you. I have removed it from your post as it showed your friend's info, not the scammer's.

When an email is forwarded, the header will show for that forwarded message, not the original message. The original header will need to be retrieved by your friend, from her account, from the email sent directly from the scammer.

The scammer also used the British/Canadian spelling of the word "colour" which is highly unusual for someone who claims to have been born in PA.