Not sure?!

I have been talking to someone from the US Army for about 6 months now, we have been getting on really well. We have been communicating via email, his is an '@live.com' email address.

I requested a text connection with a phone which was granted about 3 weeks ago. Now he has requested that we meet over here in England. He has applied to the army and was granted permission for leave, but I also had to request his leave. I have now been asked to pay a fee of $325 (that will be refunded) in order for him to be allowed leave. The payment is supposed to be paid through Western Union.

As I know nothing about the US Army I am not sure if I am being scammed or not. Does anyone have any information about this or can anyone advise me please???

Thanks! Pat

I'm sorry to say your suspicions that brought you to this site a true. This is a very common romance scam. The person you are communicating with is not in the military and more than likely a West African. He has no intintions of visiting you in England he is just trying to steal your money. Everything he has told you is a lie.

You can learn more about the scam here http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6527

1) Civilians cannot request a soldiers leave.
2) A soldier does not have to pay to go on leave it is granted.

Stop all communications with him imeadiatly and he will go away after being ignored.

It would also be very helpful to post his information here so others skeptical of his story can find this thread and avoid being scammed by him.

Please post a few of his emails including headers. If your not sure how to get the email headers you can follow the instructions here http://www.ip-adress.com/faq/view_email_header/
Make sure to delete your personal information out of the emails.

I'm sorry you were targeted by this scammer but glad you found the site before you lost any money.

I'm sorry pat123 but it's another scam. Oh no, another scammer impersonating someone from the military!Many scammers play the game for months and months before mentioning the the big 'M' word. When they think the victim is at ease and comfortable is when they strike.
As Justin indicated, a soldier does not have to pay money to have leave. That is like saying you need to pay your employer when you want holidays! It just doesn't happen that way.
If you scroll to the top of this page at the search function, type in the words military scam and you will see the forums are littered with them.
I'm very happy you have not sent money to the fraudulant individual.
Yes please, can you post email headers and the name the scam artist is using. But make sure your details are edited out.

His name is Captain Albert Jordan
His email address is [email protected] and I have also been recieving messages form 'the us army' who are using the address [email protected] .
This is an email i recieved from Albert.
hi Hun
Hello darling..how are you today..I'm fine and ok here..its raining here today so internet network may be low...when you send the money...copy me the mtcn. Number and your full name and adress..so I can quickly take it to them in case of slow network..I want them to act on the file today..so next week I can get the dates I'll be home with you...love you darling..write me soon.

Here is an email from the army.
Leave Approval
Ms Pat Thomas
In Lieu of your Application, i hereby notify you that a spouse sponsored leave has been approved by the US Army defence council for capt albert jordan.
You will be required to make a refundable Notrary stamp duty Charges of $325 ( three hundred and twenty five dollars ) to the Administrative department with a means of identification for documentation .
A leave form of the US army, his exit permit and flight details will be released to you as soon as you make all neccesary requirements available.
NB. You are required to make a formal acceptance note in a reply to this mail, stating the nearest airport to you,thereafter the payment mode and details will be issued to you.
Best Wishes
David Petraeus
Commanding Officer
ISAF
US ARMY

Well done pat123. Others doing a search will find and read your post. You have just saved someone in the future from being stung. Without going into specifics, the us army address being used by the scammer/s is all wrong and clearly a fake. The scammer wants you to use western union or money gram to send money to them because they say it's quick. Whilst that may be true, what they don't say is important! Once money has been sent via wu / mg and collected by the scammer, there is no chance of recovering your money when the scam is revealed. Your best move is to cease all contact with the scammer without reason or rhyme. This puts the scammer on the back foot and it gets confused. If you don't, the scammer becomes better and will make it more difficult for the next intended victim.

i do hope this helps anyone in the future, take care everyone

i have been speaking to albert this morning i didnt let on i knew he was as scammer at first until he asked about the money, i said i couldnt send it because i hadnt got the city he was in he said he was inkabul afghanistan, but was sure the money would go to tacoma,then i mentiond that people have told me money doesnt change hands when u want leave, he told me he couldnt get normal leave thats why he asked me to ask, and thats what the money is for its to replace him while he is over here.

im still playing along for a while just to find out what other things he has to say, but i must say he comes back very quick with his answers so no way is he new to this,

does this still sound like a scam because i thought he would have cut me off as soon as i told him i thought he was scamming me,

pat

Hi Pat123,

This is definitely a scam - 100%.

As he has some of your real life details such as name and email address it is best to just cease contact altogether. Don't even tell him that you know he is a scammer.

He will likely send further emails asking why you haven't replied. Don't even open them, just delete them and ignore him. He will eventually get the hint and leave you alone.

As before, there is no doubt at all that he is a scammer. He just thinks he can talk you round from you doubts, and convince you to send him money.

Best of luck
Amadeus

I am 100% sure this is a scam. He is not going to just come out and say "Yep you caught me I was trying to scam you."

If he has been at it for a while he has more than likely been told he was a scammer by another potential victim. He will be prepared for the accusation with more lies. These scammers will not give up easily. The only way is for you to stop communicating with him. He will go away after being ignored.

If you need further proof this is a scam you can read more here on the US Army's website.
http://www.army.mil/article/36242/cid-warns-of-internet-romance-scams/

hi all ive asked albert to send me a lot of pics and he has, now hes saying because i dont trust him we should call it a day. does this sound familiar i so dont want it to be a scam, but i wont give any money over so dont worry on that score, how come he had more pics of him and his family and him in his uniform, im so confused

Hi Pat,

You're confusion is very understandable. For these scammers, lying is a way of life and earns them a living. As such they get very good at lying to make as much money as possible from victims.

From the information you have provided there is no doubt whatsoever that he is definitely a scammer. All he is out to do is take your money and when you have none left he will disappear forever.

I hope I am not sounding too harsh when I say this, but it is crucial that you STOP communicating with this person. He is a criminal and certainly NOT the person you are looking at in the photographs. He has stolen those photos from a real soldier's facebook page and is using them to try and convince you.

When he says "we should call it a day" he is trying to make you come round and keep talking to him. In reality, every time you talk to him you are being scammed because he is continuing to lie to you. Please please just block his emails and don't even read them. The more you let yourself even glance at his lies, the more he has an edge and will continue to try his scam on you

thankyou for your reply, and yes i will from now delete all contact with him , thanks again for your help, pat

As GA said, he wants you to keep talking to him. He is doing this by trying to make himself look innocent and you look guilty.

Just to answer this question:

how come he had more pics of him and his family and him in his uniform

Before he made up this character, he found the facebook, myspace, photobucket, or similar page for the real soldier or a family member (such as the real soldier's wife), and he copied all of the photos from the page to use in his scams. The person may have made the page private now, but scammers know they may lose access, so they make sure they save the photos right away.

There is a link in my signature line for romance scam victims. I would like to encourage you to read the information there, as it may help you.

hi ive just found out because he is on face book captain albert jordan is now paul jordan just to let you all know thanks with all your help, pat