Please tell me this is not a scam!!!

I have been corresponding with a Sgt Chris Post who is currently based in Iraq. He has asked for money to enable him to get a satalite phone which I sent £200 to a women in London, he then informed me it was delivered via Afgham and the shipment was highjacked. He then asked for another £200 for another phone but this time it was sent to a man in Nigeria and the phone was sent straight to Iraq. He got the phone this morning but it does not allow incoming or outgoing calls on SMS and he needed a top up to activate it.

He has also said he wants leave to come and see me to get engaged but there is a fee of £4,320 and he would be here for 3 weeks and would be granted it as soon as they got the money.

His e-mail address is: [email protected]

He has sent 5 photos in total but don't want to put them on yet in the hope this is not a scam.

He has chatted on messenger virtually every night with me and my children. He has a 6 year old daughter and comes from Boston, New York.

I have more information regarding him if it is needed.

Please tell me this is genuine.

Welcome to Scamwarners Ettesil.

I am sorry but you are corresponding with a definite scammer.

Please cease all contact - do not send any money - we will help you all we can.

Please see these guides;

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6527

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3607

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3622

What do I do if I think I've been scammed?

Cease all communications with the scammer immediately. Delete any emails unopened and hang up if the scammer calls you.

Report the scam to your local police and to the Internet Crime Complaint Centre if you are in the US. There is not much chance that the scammer will be caught, as he is probably overseas and certainly using false details. However, the more scams are reported, the more the authorities can tell how widespread it is, and the greater the effort that goes into stopping it.

If you have given the scammer your bank account, credit card or other financial details, tell your bank, card company or other provider immediately, and ask them to change your accounts and card numbers.
Do not accept any deliveries that are from the scammer or that you are not expecting. If you receive a check or something similar (such as a money order) take it to your bank or local police and tell them you think it is fake.

Do not panic. Whilst scammers are criminals and some of them are dangerous, the risks are negligible if you simply stop communicating with them. If you are in any doubt about your safety, report your concerns to your local police, who will be able to advise you.

Don't expect to get your money back. I am afraid there is very little prospect of that happening, and anyone who tells you they can get your money back for a fee is a scammer. Please see our section on money recovery scams for more information.

Spread the word. We know it's very uncomfortable to feel that you got conned, or nearly got conned, but if you fell for it, so will others. Talking about it may be hard, but the more you help educate everyone about scams, the less opportunities there are for scammers to defraud others

Ask here for help and advice. It's why we are here.

Hi, Ettesil & welcome.

Sorry to say, but this is a classic scam from someone pretending to be in the military. The money you have sent is gone....please do NOT send any more - in fact, drop all contact with this person.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6527 gives a good summary of why we know it's a scam - but we are happy to prove it to you if you can please post the details, an email or two plus the headers.

He is not in Iraq - or the military - but is in an internet cafe in West Africa.

I can only reiterate what the others have said--it is without a doubt a scam. Please do post his information, name, emails, phone numbers used, and photos--or if you are uncomfortable with doing that, you can forward any emails or chat logs to Enchantress or myself and we can post a profile.

Others have already sent you the links, and I encourage you to read them, but just to re-emphasize a few key points.
1) the US military does not use yahoo or other free addresses. Individuals would not put their military title in their personal address as your scammer did.
2) No legitimate satellite phone provider has you send money via Western Union.
3) US miltary leave is earned like a vacation and is based on time served. It NEVER requires advance fees, and cannot be requested by anyone outside the military.

Normally I would just say he is in Africa somewhere, but since the second payment was sent to Nigeria, that will turn out to be where your scammer is actually located. The woman you sent the first payment to may be another victim of his scams.

In addition to what the others have said, also be wary of recovery scams. This will be the same scammer, or someone he works with. They will contact you and tell you that they can get your money back for you and possibly even prosecute the scammer. This is just another attempt to get more money from you. I've seen them claim to come from the FBI, British High Counsel, the Nigerian government, as well as other places. Unfortunately your money is gone but you were wise enough to realize this might be a scam early on and now you can stop sending this liar and thief anymore of your money.

Hi, Ettesil & welcome.

Sorry to say, but this is a classic scam from someone pretending to be in the military. The money you have sent is gone....please do NOT send any more - in fact, drop all contact with this person.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6527 gives a good summary of why we know it's a scam - but we are happy to prove it to you if you can please post the details, an email or two plus the headers.

He is not in Iraq - or the military - but is in an internet cafe in West Africa.

Where do I send the e-mails to?

You can post them here. Search engine will pick them up for the possible benefit of other victims.
You could pass them to the police, but they are very unlikely to investigate. With an anonymous scammer in a /Nigerian Internet cafe. there is nothing they can do.
There is an American site www.ic3.gov run by the FBI, and a couple of other law enforcement agencies. It's intended for US citizens who have lost money, but as this scammer claims to be US military they may like to know.
You have to resign yourself to the fact that the scammer won't be caught though, and that you will never get your money back. Sorry.

Sorry Ettesil.
We would love to tell you that this is not a scam but I'm afraid that it all points in that direction.
You don't mention Western Union but we assume that was the method of payment. Is that right?
Are you able to post the headers from his email? If you don't know what I am talking about, please ask here.
This is just so we can confirm to you that the scammer is from Nigeria.

he says that once I've paid for leave I will get it back as his beneficiary and that I would receive $90,500

I'm going to be pretty harsh here and tell it like it is. He is 100% scammer. He is a black man in Nigeria, probably in his late teens or 20's. His only connection to the US military is that he uses pictures of an American soldier stolen from the internet. Lies come from him as easily as the truth (actually, he most likely has a much easier time lying than telling the truth). There is absolutely no limit as to what he will say or do to get your money. To him, you and the other people he is scamming are magas (fools) who deserve to be scammed. He couldn't care less if he breaks your heart or the hearts of your children, and if you lost your home and ended up on the street because of him--he not only wouldn't care, he would not hesitate to take the last bit of money you had saved to feed your children. He is not the sensitive, romantic person he pretends to be--in fact, many of his romantic emails are simply copied and pasted from romance sites such as poemslovers.com . Chances are, he has multiple scam personas. With you, he is playing an American soldier. It is very possible that with other victims, he is playing a young white female and using pictures of a porn star! In each scam, he plays a role--and that role is simply a means to an end. If he thinks he is going to lose you, he will beg, plead, cry, play the romantic, offer you the world, or even threaten suicide--but make no mistake-it is not you personally he is afraid of losing--it is your money.

The beneficiary line is another pack of lies intended to convince you that he is real and he loves you, and to make you believe that it is ok to send money, because you will get it back. He may even provide forms or certificates. These are as fake as his name.

The best thing you can do is drop him--NOW! Block his ID and phone number from your phone and email. Better yet, change email addresses and phone numbers. And post his letters here or give them to one of us to post, as they might save another victim from going through what you are undoubtedly going through. You can either post them to this thread (remove your personal information first) or you can send them by pm to one of our support staff, or forward them via email if that is easier. I will send you a pm shortly.

Ettesil,

As difficult as this is for me to join in this conversation, I must agree 100% with the previous posters.
I was married for eleven years to a USA military man (although -- in the interests of full disclosure -- we are now divorced).

There was never any fee to pay, nor was my permission or cooperation required for my husband to go "on leave" to travel anywhere: USA, Germany, Thailand, etc. -- "on leave" meant on leave = permission to go wherever he wanted and to be considered "off-duty" as long as he reported his whereabouts to his commanding officers.

To the best of my knowledge, according to USA military rules, unless you are actually legally MARRIED to a person, or are their PARENT or CHILD, I am unaware of ANY provision for a non-related person to be declared a "beneficiary."

Oh, and "Boston, New York"??? Well, there is a Boston, Massachusetts. And a New York City, New York. Also, actually a very small town called "Boston, New York," in New York State. But honestly, you wouldn't have posted here at all if your alarm bells hadn't been ringing, right?

Please take care of yourself by ceasing all communications with this cruel scammer.

I've been on this planet a few years and I've never had a stranger offer me money so easily.

As soon as someone offers to pay you money for no reason then you must be suspicious. When it is a condition of receiving money, that you must pay a complete stranger money first, then it is almost certain to be a scam.

This is the basis of most scams. Someone will pay you a large amount of money if you pay them a small amount first. Once they get your money they either try to get more money from you, or disappear.

It's criminal, brutal and cruel, but very very simple. That's the shocking truth, and it's inevitable that, now they have your details (e-mail and phone) that they or their criminal friends will contact you again, pretending to be someone else.

You can never get this money because it doesn't exist.