by Dotti
Sun May 06, 2012 10:57 am
I apologize for being blunt here, but I feel it is very important you understand the situation.
You are being scammed, again. It is very possible that this fake soldier is the same scammer who has gotten your money before.
You will continue to be vulnerable to scamming unless you learn that the following facts will not change.
-The US military is a very self-contained organization. People from outside the military do NOT request things for people in the military. This includes leave, phone and anything else. This is NOT going to change--it is one of the most basic principles of how the military operates.
-Leave from the military is earned. If a soldier has earned it (based primarily on time served) he completes a request for leave. The person he is visiting does nothing. If his leave is granted and he is serving overseas, the military will arrange transportation for him. He does not pay any fees for leave, a leave pass, replacement officers, or anything else. All of these (and the related forms) are inventions of African scammers.
-Soldiers ALWAYS have access to their money, and they have access to the supplies they need. They are also paid for being soldiers.
-The US military does not transact ANY business by Western Union or Moneygram, or any other wire transfer service.
-The US military has strict rules regarding single parents serving as soldiers. They must have documented, approved plans for the care of their children, with emergency contingencies. They CANNOT just leave their child with a nanny and head off for deployment.
-ALL soldiers have an official US military address that ends in .mil They can give that address to you, and they can send and receive emails to that address. They are NOT prohibited from sharing this address for security reasons (as scammers often claim), and the US military makes sure they are working--excuses like it was hacked, doesn't work right, etc. are just that--excuses invented by scammers.
-All soldiers would receive packages, etc. through official military mail. You would never send a package to an individual in another country for a soldier.
-As far as the US military is concerned, if you have an online relationship with a scammer, you are nothing more than a pen pal. YOU are NOT considered family, and they will NOT contact you about the soldier for ANY reason.
The moment ANY of the below happens, you already have your answer.
-If a soldier you met online asks you to fill out ANY military forms for him, then he is a scammer.
-If he tells you that he needs financial help for fees, fines, etc. to come see you, then he is a scammer. This includes things that are "refundable deposits."
-If he needs help because he can't access his money, then he is a scammer.
-If he tells you a satellite phone is needed to talk to you, then he is a scammer.
-If he asks you to email the military for any reason, or to send money to the military for any reason, then he is a scammer.
-If he asks you to send money or a package to an individual, then he is a scammer.
-If he needs help because of a child emergency, and claims nobody else can handle it, then he is a scammer.
-If he claims he needs you to help him get money out of the country, then he is a scammer.
-If he talks about making you his beneficiary, then he is a scammer.
One more point--scammers like to use "security" as an excuse for many different things. A soldier who is really on a top secret mission or in a very high security area is NOT going to be active on dating sites, and he is not going to be allowed to contact with non-family members using insecure email and chat. In other words, he won't be in contact with you.
The UK military operates in very similar ways, and the points above would apply for UK soldiers also.
