Ben

I was contacted by a person called Ben who goes under the name love on Grindr. We got chatting and he seemed really interested in me. He said he worked undercover in the US navy and could we move from Grindr to WhatsApp.The messages were great. Little poems, lots of nice things being said etc. But I started to get a little concerned about the rhymes which just made me a little nervous. Then he said he had an upset stomach. This morning he said he still wasn't well and could I help him. He had no money because military personnel aren't allowed it. He had a supplier though who could provide him with decent food. Could I send him 500 euros for him to purchase food. That's when I realised it was a scam. Of course I've sent him no money but hope this warning helps others. Has anyone else experienced this and what can we do about people like him. Further investigations by me have revealed all the nice little rhymes he sent were freely available on the Internet. He actually gave himself away by sending a poem with the word her in three times. He quickly texted back saying sorry, he meant him. Gotcha! Has anyone else come across this type of scenario and is there anything we can do about it?

Please post the contact information for this scam such as email address(s) and telephone numbers. this will help other victims of this scam to find the post.

Please post the complete email where he asked for money.

The number called from was +1 (862) 930-5138

It says it is a business account on Whatsapp.

After many messages the first one looking for cash said, "Hello (name) the chef at our camp that's from the USA has been swap for a while now and has been replaced by the chef from Syria or...... and he cooks the tradition food but am not acclimatized to the food so I developed a bit of running stomach and you know in the army we have no excuse and we do before complain so (name) I really want you to help me with a little cash so that I can afford American diet on my own till the new chef brought back I promise am gonna pay you back when am home. The reason why I am asking you is that our account u is on hold till we are back to state because we are in foreign country. We can only access it when we are back stateside. Christmas is even in the corner. I Will be head if you can help me out. I'm gonna pay you back when I'm stateside. love. I do trust you and I know this can lead us being partners."

Error there is that he mentions army whereas earlier he told meh e was in the navy. The grammatical errors are his not mine.

I realised this was a scam but wanting to find out more I asked him how much he needed and where should I send it. He replied, "Okay. Understood. Would be glad if you can help me out with 500 euros."

He gave no details where to send and I told him that I didn't have the money.

(862) 930-5138 Type: Non-Fixed VoIP (e.g. Skype or Google Voice)

The telephone number is not registered to any individual or company.
This telephone number can be used from anywhere in the world that has high speed internet.

Thank you for sharing this information which will help alert others to this fake soldier scam