Not sure if this is a scam

I live in Australia and met , through an online dating site, a person who states he is a Captain in US Army and he asked for a few hundred AU$ to be sent via western union so that his emails would be secure as he is in Afghanistan with Special Forces.
He has been sending me "romantic" emails several times a day and they have at the bottom "secure server kabul Afghanistan".
He states he can get Vocational Leave for 18 weeks to "be with you darling". I sent a telegraphic transfer of $$AU but have requested via my bank to have it cancelled and the funds returned to me ASAP as he sent me another email stating that he needed a further $23k AU for a "secure charter flight out of Afghanistan" this week to be with me. That has rung alarm bells and only being on an Australian Govt pension I don't have that sort of money anyway.
He is claming to be a Captain in Special Forces. Lost wife in car accident and daughter living in UK with grandmother.
He sent me photos of him supposedly , in army uniform and with this name on it. Name he has given me is George Massingale.
Look it may be all above board but something in my gut is telling me otherwise

How do I attach emails and photos for "checking " please.

Thankyou

Hi collie and welcome to ScamWarners, although I am sorry it is for this reason. Your gut is right!

Even without looking at the emails/headers or anymore information, I can assure you it is a scammer you are dealing with. Please immediately read this important thread by one of our senior moderators, Dorothy: Scammers Impersonating Military Personnel

You will see that you never have to send money to any military personnel for 'secure' transmission of emails/phone calls/whatever. Nor does any military personnel have to pay for flights for leave for any reason.

I am glad you were able to stop the money transfer and get your funds returned to you. Now you need to stop all contact with the scammer via email and/or phone. Don't bother to confront them -- they are scammers -- they will just lie and play on your emotions to try to keep you.


To post up emails, all you need to do is copy them and then paste them into the posting area. Be sure to remove any of your contact details (such as your email or phone number), but leave the scammer's information. Headers are very important to as they can usually show where your scammer really is. If you need help on finding the header information, post back and someone will assist or you can read about them here: http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/19.html

To post his photos, you need to have them hosted somewhere on the internet, like here: http://www.4freeimagehost.com/ and then you get the linky and place the tags [img]photoURL[/img] around it. If you need more help, just ask or read this thread here with more information: Using this forum and how to post pictures

Any information you can post up, the photos, the email address, a few of the emails, will help us help you better and will prevent someone else from being scammed.

I haven't yet received the funds back but 1st thing Friday Morning our time(Thursday US Time) my bank sent an Urgent Request for Cancellation of the Telegraphic Transfer.I have also reported it to our Department of Consumer Affairs.
Can one of the moderators assist me in posting photos etc to the forum as I am not the best with Computers?

I have kept the email and messenger open and have made a file up with all the Correspondence and if the funds don't come back then the matter will be placed into the hands of the Australian Federal Police and then onto Interpol.

He got me at a very vulnerable time- I was in hospital with Chronic Heart Failure plus this week was the anniversary of my Dad's passing and we were extremely close.

Welcome to the site collie. I know it can't be helpful when your health isn't good to know you've been duped. Having recently had kidney cancer and a 'mini stroke' I think I've managed to cure my doctor of accusing me of hypochondria

Losing a hundred dollars hurts, but there are worse things that can happen, and if the scammer hadn't been over ambitious, he would have taken you for every cent you had, and then tried to get you to take out loans. Realistically the authorities won't be able to do much as the photos will be taken off the internet and no details you have been given will be true.

However, if you sent money through your bank, did he give you a bank account ? If he did that might at least lead to an associate of his, or maybe it's someone else he has duped with another set of lies. Either way, if you can provide details of any bank account he asked you to use, we can report it. We don't want or need your details.

collie, I do hope you get your funds back, however if they have already been picked up by the receiver then they are gone for good. And though it is very good to make a report to the police (and we would advise you to do so), there will be little they can do. Your scammer is likely in another country, probably one in West Africa, using a fake name and multiple email addresses. The chances of him being caught are 0%.

I am not a moderator, but if you would like to PM me the emails/photos, I will post them up for you. Or you can find any of the names in red or green and PM the information to one of them. (To send a PM click on the PM button to the right of a post.)

I am sorry about your health issues. Scammers are good at what they do and romance scammers are some of the worse. Not only can you lose your money to them, but also your heart.

So far my money has not been refunded I have been in hospital for the last 2 weeks as the stress of all this aggravated my chronic heart failure. I have just come home today.

The sum was $7500AU and my entire savings .

The account "beneficiary" - A TEAM SERVICES

ACCT NUMBER 2524626023


COMPASS BANK, 480 E 120th AVE NORTHGLENN COLORADO USA

This has devasted me emotionally, physically and financially and I have had to be put on anti depressants just to get through the day

His name he gave me was George Massingale.

He is still "lurking about" as an email I sent him 16th Jan with Read Receipt Required was read by him today 28th Jan.

I have kept every email he has sent me.


The alarm bells rang when he asked me for a further $23000AU and that was when I went straight to my bank.

I will pm you photos etc soon

Oh he rang me on my cell phone when I was in Hospital and tried all the lovey dovey crap and of course the ph he called from could not be traced by me

the email address he gave me is still active
[email protected]

I am "gutted" about this. This was money I had saved from my social security invalid pension to fix up things on my unit and car

Posted for collie:










EDITED POST TO CHANGE HOSTING OF PHOTOS -- Dora

collie,

Again I am so sorry for all that you are going through. Unfortunately, you might have to accept that your money is lost and gone forever. What has your bank said about the situation?

I am sure this situation is heart breaking for you and only time will heal your heart. You do need to take care of yourself with regards to your health, as that has to be your priority now -- to recover and move forward with your life, so these scammers don't take that from you too.

I didn't post up the emails that you had sent me as I am not sure if you wanted me to and they didn't seem to be any of the first emails he had sent you (their so-called 'initial formats'). I am to report the bank account he had you send the payment to, to one of our confidential sources who works on getting these scammer accounts closed. And to do that, it would be helpful to have the headers for the emails too, so we can see this 'George' was really sending the emails from as he is most certainly NOT in Afghanistan.

I hope you are no longer in email or phone contact with this scammer. As you know by now, his name isn't George Massingale and if you keep contacting him, he will just keep telling you lies to try and convince you he is real and then have you send more money. Don't open his emails, just put them in the trash. Don't answer the phone when he calls, or hang up on him. Eventually, he will go away.

The unhappy truth is that the people most susceptible to a scam are those who are already in a vulnerable situation emotionally or through health, and if ever there were a definition of pure evil, it's a scammer who contacts his victim in hospital. I've come across some pretty scummy things that scammers have done, but that ranks up there with the most loathsome deeds you could come across.

collie, I have sent you an email. Please read it carefully.

When you first posted here, you said you weren't sure this was a scam or a scammer. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt this is a scammer that you have been communicating with. Just a scammer pretending to be a man in the military. The pictures are not of him, they have been stolen from somewhere off the internet. There are no fees a real military man needs you to pay for him for 'military server link kabul Afghanistan'. There is no form for 'Vocational Leave' from the US Army that needs to filled out. It is all imaginary and make-believe from a scammer. NONE OF IT IS REAL except for the very real money you sent him.

Unfortunately, it is probably gone. And you need to stop all contact with this scammer NOW. I know he is still emailing you and telling you more lies that he has been shot and is dying. LIES! Emailing him will NOT get your money back for you -- he won't help you do that -- EVER! All it will do is give him a chance to keep lying to you and keep you from moving on with you life. PLEASE STOP NOW!!

Hi all

I have ceased all communication with the Scammer but the stress of the whole thing landed me back in Hospital 30 Jan 2011( I am using the Public Computer).

Once I am home the matter is going to be handed to the Australian Federal Police who will then hand it to Interpol.

The "beneficary bank" has been emailed 3 times by my bank advising them that this is a Scam and thus any withdrawals will be Fraudulent under Law but my Bank has not even had a response! The only response they has was that" will the remitter accept that due to exchange rates I may not get a full refund"!

So the "beneficiary bank" could also be charged under Law.

i will keep you posted and let you know when I am home from hopsital

Hi all

Came home from Hospital 12th February 2011.

One of the major newspapers had an article about Scammers so I contacted them and they were very interested on doing an article to "expose" this pig.
The photographer has been out to take photos and then the reporter will be in touch with me to do the article.
So everyone who buys this leading Newspaper will read all about it.

When I am feeling a bit stronger it will go to the Australian Federal Police.

I can't believe the audacity of this guy. He has since go on the the online dating site using 2 other different names .
The owners of the site caught it very early after I told them it was the same bloke and have deactivted the accounts
We think he is trying again with another name and photo as the wording is so similar.

Today I had to access one of the charities for assistance in paying my bills and food vouchers as this arsehole has cleaned me right out

Collie it is good to hear that you are out of the hospital now. Your health is most important, take care of it.

I am glad that you are sharing your story and hope that your story will help others.

It is good to report to law enforcement. If the banks work together, that would be a wonderful thing. Most important is that you guard your health and stay out of the hospital! Thank you for keeping us informed.