A Victim already - US Military Scammer

Hi,

Thanks to my friend who found me this site. I'm new here. As I'm not a native English speaker, I'd like to apologize for my English first.

As captioned, I believe I'm a victim already as I had paid, a lot, for a US soldier's retirement. The paying process has not yet finished, until I asked my friend for help lately and she found me this site for all the sharings here.

The current status of my case is, I paid a lot already, and now got the checks for the money i paid plus the retirement fund. I have been instructed to make more payments otherwise the check could not be cashed.

Now I have the checks on hand which were claimed sent by Army in US. I got the delivery note, with the sender's details on it, and the checks with me. I read the related link here that this may be a fradulent check. So shall I keep the check and report the local police here? Appreciate if there could be further advice.

I would like to post and share my experience here and hope other ladies would be alerted.

I met an US Military Senior Sergeant called Rede Mikey James who knew my email from speeddate.com:

NAME: REDE MIKEY JAMES
RANK: SENIOR SERGEANT
MILITARY OCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY (MOS): OUI/100L
LOCATION: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
EMAIL: [email protected] (1st contact)
[email protected] (current use in the chats solely with me)


*******************************************************************************************

I was first asked to pay for the phone service. Here's the email:

From? Army Department ([email protected])
Sent date? 9 Jun 2012 (Sat) 11:28 AM
Subject? US ARMY CALL ACTIVATION


DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
3RD INFANTRY DIVISION
CAMP VICTORY ,Afghanistan


Dear Customer,

Thank you for the inquiry, our service is to provide phoning and Satellite facilities for civilian and Military Personnel..

We specialize in providing global satellite access services. TS2 solutions have been implemented for United States Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Army Corps , Australian Defense Force (ADF), Command of Polish Navy, Special Military Formation GROM, 1st Special Commando Regiment, Polish National Police, Polish National Headquarters of the State Fire Services, Border Guard (Poland), World Bank Group, Lockheed Martin Information Technology, Halliburton Energy Services, KBR, General Dynamics Information Technology, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, US Naval Research Laboratory, ITT Corporation Aerospace / Communications Division, Technest Holdings / EOIR Technologies, North Eastern Aeronautical Company (Neany), EchoStorm Worldwide, Jorge Scientific Corporation, Erinys International, Aegis Iraq, Warsaw Stock Exchange, Polish State Railways PKP S.A., University of Warsaw, Reuters, TVP - Polish TV, TVN, Agora, PAP - Polish Press Agency, EuroZet, Nokia Siemens Networks, PTC - Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa, Centertel, Polkomtel, Michelin Poland, BMW - Bayerische Motoren Werke, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota Marki, IBM - International Business Machines Corporation, HP - Hewlett-Packard, Manitowoc Crane Group, Carrefour, Colgate-Palmolive, Comarch, PBG S.A., Prochem S.A., Holowczyc Management, NG2 - New Gate Group, LPP S.A., Big Star Limited, Bank BPH, PKO TFI S.A., PGNiG - Polish Petroleum and Gas Mining, Drill-Lab, MEGAGAZ S.A., SCHMIDT Holding, White&Case, Sun Microsystems, PMM - Polish Medical Mission, UPS - United Parcel Service, Polish Medical Air Rescue and SkyTaxi.
Especially for US Army soldiers we ship VSAT equipment within /5-7 days/ in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.
We also provide Thuraya Satellite Phones for the Military personnel.
Thuraya products give you the freedom of movement and the ability to stay connected in more than 110 countries in Europe, North, Central Africa and large parts of Southern Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia . This means total coverage whether you are in a village, on a mountain or by the coast.

Basic advantages of the Thuraya satellite telephony we provides for the Military are:
Possibility of communicating freely in 110 countries in Europe, North and Central Africa, Asia, and Middle East
Satellite and GSM connectivity in one telephone
Posibility of calling Inmarsat A/B/Mini/ Iridium networks
No prepaid cards needed
Free Thuraya - SG-2520 Handset - Satellite/GSM
Free unlimited calls for Military Personnel after the registration fee(s) have been remitted.
In other to register for our phoning facility, you are advice to provide us with the information below;

YOUR INFORMATION:
FULL NAME:
HOME ADDRESS:
PHONE NUMBER:
PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER:

MILITARY PERSONNEL INFORMATION:

NAME:
RANK:
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY ( MOS ):
LOCATION (COUNTRY WHERE HE/SHE NEEDS THE SERVICE):

Once you provide us with the above information you are no longer anonymous to us.
(We) protect your privacy. We do not insist you to provide extra personal information than necessary.
All information collected will not be used for any illegal activity
The information is what we are going to use to register you with our servic
TS2 Satellite Technologies' network in Iraq and Afghanistan has over 15 thousand military users of local broadband satellite connections.

/EIN News/ TS2 specializes in providing global satellite communication services in areas with poor telecommunications infrastructure. Its basic transmission medium is a two-way transfer of data, which provides not only the Internet access and transfer of information within the network but also voice communications. This type of services is very often used by defense industries, Special Forces and Army.

"We were among the first telecommunications providers in the satellite technology in the territory of Iraq and Afghanistan and as such we have enjoyed a successful cooperation with the US Army for several years now" - says Marcin Frackiewicz, CEO of the TS2 Satellite Technologies.

TS2 Satellite Technologies [email protected] offer two-way high-speed internet access with no phone lines, no cable, no dial-up modem. It's always on, available virtually anywhere, and affordable. The laptop, or WLAN network, can receive internet signal through a special satellite V SAT modem which is usually set up in a building or tent when deployed.

The Internet access has resulted in major morale improvements. Troops no longer feel cut off from home. This is especially important for the many who are married, and have young children. Not all the Internet connectivity is just for staying in touch with the folks back home. The troops use the Internet a lot for professional tasks, and not all of them are official business. Some troops blog, and many other stay in touch with military friends and associates in other parts of the world. The Internet has made possible many online communities composed of military professionals.

TS2's satellite military networks are located in Al Taqaddum AB, Bagram AF, Balad Airbase, Baquba Airfield, FOB Brassfield-Mora, LSA Adder Tallil, Camp Speicher, Camp Al Asad Air Base, Camp Bucca, Camp Buehring, Camp Charlie Basra, Camp Eggers, Camp Fallujah, Camp Grizzly, Camp Korean Village, Camp Liberty, Camp Mejid, Camp Ramadi, Camp Slayer, Camp Stryker, Camp Taji, Camp Victory, Fob Bagram, Fob Brassfield Mora, Fob Delta Al Kut, Fob Diamondback, Camp Falcon, Fob Garryowen, Fob Gardez, Fob Ghazni, Fob Kalagush, Kandahar Base, Fob Lagman, Fob Mchenry, Fob Marez, Fob Normandy, Fob Rustamiyah, Fob Summerall, Fob Sykes, Fob Salerno, Fob Torkham, Fob Warhorse, Fob Warrior, Herat RTC, Jallaabad Air Base, Kabul Airport, Kabul Camp Eggers, Kandahar Air Base, Lsa Anaconda Balad, Sather Air Base and Q-West Base Complex.

TS2 provides in the Middle East & North African region following services: two way internet broadband access, Thuraya and Iridium satellite phones, VSAT Private Network, broadcasting services, SCPC/SCPC, SCPC/DVB, MESH services, STAR/DAMA, VSAT Mini Hub Solution, VNO and many more.
Amount:

Regards,
TS2.
Satellite Provider - Technology Satellite



GENERAL David Petraeus
Multi-National Corps Afghanistan
Public Affairs Office,Camp Victory
APO PRT060200.


****************************************************************************************************************************


Then I was asked to pay for the Leave Vacation:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Army Department <[email protected]>;
Subject: ****VACATION PROCESS****
Sent: Mon, Jun 11, 2012 5:12:33 PM


DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
3RD INFANTRY DIVISION
CAMP VICTORY ,Afghanistan


Dear Madam,

This is to notify you that we got your mail,You mail us for leave request on behalf of Sgt. Rede James Mickey, who is among the E7 serving US Army Forces in Afghanistan that he should come home to you for a upcoming leave vacation.
You will have you to pay the sum of $1532.59 dollars for the upcoming vacation form, so get back to us if you want to proceed with the vacation plan.

Please kindly ensure to make payment of $1532.59 via Western Union because it is fast and more reliable within 48hrs. The payment should be made to the base secretary department in Nigeria For easier processing due to your location (HK) that was confirmed in your previous mail.


Name: Angelina Hegarty
Address- 8 ketu ilode,
City: Ife
State: Osun State
Country: Nigeria
Zipcode: 23401
Security Queston: Money For?
Security Answer: Vacation Form


Note: Any money spent on Sgt. Rede James Mickey vacation leave will be refunded back to you its guaranteed by the National Transit US ARMY DEPT.

Commander Officer in charge of Vacation leave as attend to your request please get back to us with your assurance that Sgt. Rede James Mickey will be safe with you.

Get back to us ASAP.
Regards

GENERAL David Petraeus
Multi-National Corps Afghanistan
Public Affairs Office,Camp Victory
APO PRT060200.

*************************************************************************************************************

From? Army Department <[email protected]>
Date? Jun 15, 2012 (Fri) 2:25 AM
Subject? ***LEAVE BONUSE***





We got your payment details from your fiancee today and we are very sorry for the loss due to the online hacking in the world right now. Your payment was accepted and verified by the Head office. We had a court section conference today and Sgt. Rede James Mikey agreement with the Military was that he will retire when he found a wife or make up a family because he is among the Delta forces and he have to retire before the leaving date without further delay.


Request for the final Retirement of (Sgt.) Rede James Mikey here in the Camp Victory Kabul, Afghanistan. Kindly view the attached document and we hope you can be able to view this attached document because its sent directly from the United Nations.. We will be transferring the total amount of 656,300 usd ( SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS ) for his benefits from the Army to your account. And also we will be paying you all your money spent on Sgt. Rede James Mikey vacation as advised earlier.


Your army is set to leave the camp on the 25th Of June 2012, You will be paying 15 percent off his benefits due to the feeding allowance and Home equity of the Army.You can just make the deposit of 4000.usd today due to the financial problems your fiancee explained to us at the court so that we can help to us that as the prove of payment at the head quarter.


Your Documents are already forwarded to United Nation Peace keeping operation center situated in New Jersey, Clifton (LOC1 S4 OFFICE), for Urgent attention and payment verification.

Kindly make the payment to the same information given to you and please give your fiancee the payment details so as to not be hacked on internet


Your application for the liscence of (Sgt.) Rede James Delta Force base in Camp Victory, Kabul will be discussed and considered after meeting the above instructions.

NOTE: The cost of this certificate amount is refundable to the applicant to the official arrival of (Sgt.) Rede James Delta Force. Delta Force authorities assume responsibility for the processing and release all rights in a week on arrival at their destination.

Acknowledged receipt of this email
General Robert.A.West
Department of the US ARMY Vacation Division.
US Army Command

********************************************************************************************************************

While there're other email communications and documentations, please let me know if I should post them here for further reference.

Sorry I don't know how to upload the photos here. Please let me know. Thanks.

By the way, he told me we were married via the service below:

http://www.marriagebyproxy.com/index.php

Anyway to check it's validity? I want to make sure i'm not into this. Thanks.

http://www.4freeimagehost.com/show.php?i=PUSHf3ca90d0637b.jpg

http://www.4freeimagehost.com/show.php?i=PUSH65b80775d583.jpg

http://www.4freeimagehost.com/show.php?i=PUSH6f98c918b7ab.jpg

http://www.4freeimagehost.com/show.php?i=PUSHda887a16af4e.jpg

The current status of my case is, I paid a lot already, and now got the checks for the money i paid plus the retirement fund. I have been instructed to make more payments otherwise the check could not be cashed.

That doesn't make sense. The check is fake. The whole thing is a scam; soldiers in the US military don't need any help from others in getting leave. Email addresses related to the US military end in ".mil", not "usa.com". You can take the check to the police, but don't expect the police to do anything, as the scammer is in Nigeria and hiding behind several lies.

As to the proxy marriage, the website appears legit in its whois record, but since the scammer is not the soldier, so the marriage is not valid.

Please stop all contact and ignore all messages from him or his accomplices from now on.

Hi MKHK
I'm sorry that you fell for this scammer. Don't feel bad, these criminals are professionals and they know what they're doing. Just think of it as an experience.
As vonpaso xlura mentioned, please stop all communications with this scammer. Also, if you have more emails from him, please post it after you edit out your personal information.

@usa emails are free ones, and anyone can register such emails at http://www.mail.com. It's not officials, nor it represent the US army.

Welcome to Scamwrners, and if you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I am saddened the thieving trickster has wasted your time. The website which is hosted in the US seems legitimate. Because the soldier is a fake, there is no marriage because one cannot marry an imaginery person
If you check the email header, it will probably point to nigeria. If the ip number begins with 41?
Now the scammer/s have your email address, be wary of future scam emails in the coming weeks or months
The scammer using the name angelina hegarty first came to prominence in the first half of 2011 and they've obviously changed tack. re: < make payment of $1532.59 via Western Union because it is fast and more reliable > The reason the tricksters say that is because it's a quicker transference of the funds. Collection is fast, no questions are asked. Once the payment is collected, your funds are lost forever with no recourse available to you.
Do not be too harsh on yourself.

I can't believe even his "soldier" title is fake?!
He sent me photos which he said was taken in the camp! with him in front of the helicopters, with the "US Army" badge on his arm... and in a somehow military alike ceremony... I know he is a scammer now and accepted the fact that I can never get my money paid back. But I don't know how to believe this even his identiy is a fake one?!

Please note I got his friend's email here, which maybe another scammer, with registration in speeddate & HongKongCupid:

Name: Geoffrey Wilkinson
Email: [email protected]

And, another piece of information, which I checked out from this soldier,
To: [email protected]
Subject line: From SODIQ
Inside it I saw the check details there, the amount, My name and address. Any idea about this receiver address? I think he's the one at the back to issue the checks.


Another receiver's email here which I found the soldier has sent my personal information to him,
[email protected]
I don't know what it's used for.

The soldier said he has a 7 yrs old girl, living with the Nanny in London. I had the Nanny's email and I know the girl is "real". I read her email once which was written to me when we first got started. But after replying her back, I never received her emails again. I feel sad for the lovely girl whose dad involved in all these fraud activities. Now I know, I read the girl's email to her dad, saying she hoped her dad would not hurt me as she wanted us to meet. I mean, maybe the girl knows what her dad does to support a living. At first I was puzzled, now I realized what the hurt she means.

Shall I protect this girl and not to disclose her name here?

He swears to the God for all the things he did and promises he made. What a shame!

I just found out his profile on Myspace, with all his photos shared with me, and his family, his wife & children, his parents.... so all lies...

I'm sorry that you were scammed.

Unfortunately, even after realizing that they have been scammed, it can be difficult for victims to truly understand just how deep the lies run. The reason for this is very simple: To an honest person, it is extremely hard to imagine that someone could be dishonest enough to lie with every single line they write, and to create a completely fake story that is so in-depth and complicated. Yet this is what these scammers do. It is also hard to imagine how any human being could play with another's emotions, and cause so much pain, just for money. But this too is typical of these scammers. The declarations of love, promises of a future, even the everyday chat about military life mean nothing to the scammer. They are just meaningless words, often copied from somewhere else, that the scammers see as necessary to get to their ultimate goal--the victim's money.

To reiterate what others have pointed out:
You have never been in contact with a soldier, or with ANYONE at all connected with the US military. Every name, every contact, every email that is supposedly connected to the military is an invention of the scammer (and/or his accomplices if he is working in a gang.) The photos ARE of a real American soldier. The person writing you is a Nigerian scammer who does not know the soldier at all. All the scammer did was take them off the real soldier's facebook or myspace page, or even a news story involving the soldier. The scammer saved the photos to his computer, so if the soldier learns that his photos are being misused and takes the photos down, the scammer still has and can keep using them. In fact, you can see that the scammers have used these photos before with a different name: http://www.romancescam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44867&p=241446

Satellite phone: Soldiers do not have to pay for expensive satellite phones to talk to their loved ones. The US military provides them with much less expensive means of contact. The text about the phone is partly invented, partly copied from a real (unrelated) satellite phone company. Money that was sent for phone went straight into the pockets of the scammer (and accomplices.) A couple of key mistakes in the emails about the phone tell me that what wasn't copied was written by an African.

Leave: Someone from outside the US military NEVER applies for leave for someone in the military. Soldiers MUST apply for their own leave, and you would have nothing to do with it. Leave is like vacation from a regular job. It is earned, and there is NO fee to get it. This "apply for my leave" and the related "fees" are an invention of African scammers.

Also, a General is a very high-ranking officer in the US military. A general has a great deal of responsibility and is responsible for a very large number of troops. Even if the leave policies were not fake, a general would not be spending his time arranging phone and leave for soldiers. In addition, General Petraeus retired from the US military a year ago and took another role in the US government.

Retirement: Soldiers sign a contract stating they will serve a certain amount of time in the US military. Marriage doesn't change that contract. A soldier cannot just retire because he has found someone. In addition, the United Nations has nothing to do with retirement from the US military. There is also no "vacation" division of the US Army. And soldiers do not receive bonuses of hundreds of thousands of dollars when they retire.

As others have said, the marriage by proxy website is legitimate, but they did not arrange any marriage, and they could not arrange any marriage because there must be an American soldier involved. The person talking to you is an African scammer - not an American soldier. Therefore no marriage is possible (and in fact, the scammer has not even attempted to arrange anything, because his goal is to steal money, not to pay it.) Plus, you would have actually had to physically mail documents to the proxy marriage company--they do not accept email or fax.

Any "military" friends of your scammer are also fakes. People receiving money from you and sending checks to you might be scammers, or they might be victims themselves, who have been convinced by the scammers that they are performing a legitimate job or are helping their own soldier fiance. Any checks you receive are definitely fraudulent.

I had the Nanny's email and I know the girl is "real".

No, she's not. The "daughter" is fake too. The photos are of a real child, but she has no more connection to the scammer than the soldier in the photos does. Her photos were taken just like the soldier's were. The "daughter" and the "nanny" are just characters invented by the scammers. The scammers wrote the emails that are supposedly from the daughter and nanny. They wrote these emails to help the whole story seem more real.

Hi Dotti,

Thank you for your advice! Every bit you told me it's the truth, just a bit difficult to accept this bitter reality now for me.

I know I am only talking with a scammer, someone who has never revealed his real identity instead of the one I found on the websites. It's sad, so sad.... But thank you so much. Hope my story helps other ladies.

I just found out his profile on Myspace, with all his photos shared with me, and his family, his wife & children, his parents.... so all lies...

Yes indeed it is simply all lies. The whole story has been about fleecing you of your money. Nothing more, that's all there is too it!
It does not love you, nor care for you, has no feelings toward you at all and couldn't give a toss about you.
The only thing scammers love is the money it hopes to rip out of your purse or pocket!
In many instances the images they use are lifted off certain internet sites, or they re-use photos that have been shown before. The reason they show chidren in some of their photos is to make the scam seem more real. I'm sorry the grubby individual has wasted your time.
Sorry if my description sounds too blunt and harsh. That is the reality of it.

I received an email from efcc today. Would anyone advise me if this a scam email or from somewhere I can trust

Thanks!

Attn: Beneficiary,

Your details was among the beneficiaries who is to receive a check of 80% out of the money you are been scammed with for compensation from the United Nation Compensation Program in Nigeria. Some scam syndicates in Nigeria were apprehended and after several interrogations and tortures the sum of Twelve million dollars was retrieved back from them. Your name and email address was among the list of the victims they mentioned during there confession. In this regard a meeting was held and it was agreed that the sum of 100,000.00 Dollars should be transferred to you as a compensation to all the victims whose name and email they provided.

To enable you receive your compensation check of 100,000.00 dollars, you are to being contacted by our agent in the United States who told you all you have to do to get the funds back and how to go about the registration.. We will like you to get back with the below information. He will deliver your compensation check to you as soon as you meet up with the requirement

1. Your Full name 2. Your Telephone Number (Home/Mobile) 3. Your Address where you want your check to be sent to (P.O Box Not Acceptable) 4. Your Date of Birth 5. Your current occupation 6. Your Mothers Name

You are to contact our agent who is taking up on your matter Gen. Lamar James the below contact details with the above requested information's so he will go through some process with it..

PLEASE COMPLY WITH US FOR YOUR SAFETY SO IT WONT LEAD TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT

Please do not hesitate to contact us where you require any further information or clarification

Contact Name: General Lamar James Email: ( [email protected] )

Tel: (1) 443-312-9849

Please note that the only money you have to spend to receive your compensation check is the registration fee and another billing which is for the delivery and insurance of your check to your door-step which will be delivered after 3 working days after proper investigation.This is the only money you have to send to receive your check and you will have send it to the ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION

Yours Faithfully,

Chief (Mrs.) Farida M. Waziri, AIG(Rtd) Executive Chairman

United Nation Compensation Program Nigeria

It's what is known as a "recovery scam."

It is nothing more than an attempt to get more money out of you. It is most likely your original scammer and/or accomplices behind it. Sadly, it's another piece of evidence to show just how low these scammers are, and how far they are willing to go (and how many lies they will tell without hesitation.)

The EFCC is not sending checks to scam victims. The EFCC also does not use free email addresses. They have a domain, efccnigeria.org and any email from EFCC would come from something @ efccnigeria.org

Yes, I also noticed it's registered under @live.com instead of a formal organization domain. Thank you so much for clarifying it for me!

The scammer using the name of chief farida is well known out there in scam land. It also uses the email addresses of [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
I thought it would be too old for this caper. Been in the 419 scam circle since 2008 from what I can see.