Trying to help a friend !

Hello,
I'm new here and I am trying to help a friend that I think has fallen prey to a scammer, but not sure where to start. He is in total denial and I would like to be able to come up with some info that will hopefully bring him to his senses !
My friend has been having a text only relationship with a woman that claims to be in the U.S. Army and is stationed in Nigeria. They are using "Whats App" to text and I have been suspicious since day one, they have been texting for approx. a year now. She has sent him multiple pictures which he has sent to me and I've done image searches and have come up with no matches ? The saga goes on and on.....
She has led him on saying that she is getting out of the service and has him getting hopes up and then coming up with some B.S. story that she has to stay just a little longer. I have asked him if he has ever sent her any money and he says no, I want to believe him but wonder what keeps her hanging on dragging this out ?
Does anyone have any tips for me to try and find out the truth about this person ? I have a Nigerian phone number for her if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

[AlanJones]

There is no doubt that your friend is in contact with a Nigerian romance scammer.

Firstly, there are no US forces deployed in Nigeria. The scammer is claiming to be deployed there as that is where they are really located and only have a Nigerian phone number and will at some point in the future ask for money to be sent to Nigeria.

Also, any military who were actually on deployment would not be spending their free time messaging random strangers on WhatsApp, they would be talking to their real friends and family.

This topic gives a lot of information on romance scammers claiming to be in the US military, including a warning from the US Army.

It's not unusual for romance scammers to go for many months without asking for money. They will want to be 100% certain that their victim fully believes their lies and will pay up. From the look of it, the scammer is going to try a "leave scam" on your friend and claim that a payment is needed to enable them to travel to be with him.

The best way that you can prove to your friend that he is in contact with a scammer is to post as much information here as possible - the claimed name, rank and unit, the Nigerian telephone number any email addresses given and also the photos that were sent. You can see here how to upload and post photos.