Information on romance scams and scammers.
#293436 by mezz Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:31 pm
I've been chatting for a while with a man claiming to be a sergeant class E7 with NATO and is currently on deployment in Iraq on a peace keeping mission, which was due to end the second week of May but has now been extended to December. His name is Clinton Walter. Email is [email protected] and he has a user name of walkonwaters123 on OK Cupid where I met him and as it seems also mingle2.com in Australia.

He claims he lost his parents at age 5, and is divorced with a 16yr old son at boarding school. When we met, not long into our conversation he brought up the subject of scammers and frauds, saying he was afraid to get involved because of them. I'd never really known much about these fraudsters and the things he was telling me seemed so believable. We have been talking for months now and sadly I have given him money. I'm only on the disability support pension and have put myself into debt now and am going to lose everything I own basically as I'm getting suspicious now.

He says NATO is different and the benefits are amazing so it costs to 1. Become his contact. 2. They have to pay for Internet, 3. The food supplied is so bad so he has to buy other stuff. 4. he loves me and wants to marry me so let's do a proxy marriage 5. He now wants to come home on emergency leave and needs me to pay for it.

He has said once he gets home we will get married and all the money I have given him he will return to me. He tells me if I have any questions to ask him instead of researching online as NATO is not like any other army and I won't find the correct information. After looking at US army sites I find information stating leave does not need to be paid for and spouses can't apply for their leave, only they can. But he tells me with NATO only I can apply for his leave.

I'm so confused and in debt now. I have multiple health issues and I've used everything I own for this man. He told me he had plenty of money but just can't access it whilst on deployment. At one stage I called him out on it and he was able to make me believe he wasn't a scammer. He told me he didn't want my money as he had plenty and was going to pay it all back etc. he seemed so genuine, talking about stuff that happened on his days, on duty, being attacked, ambushed, going out on patrol, doing safeguard duties etc etc. all seemed so legitimate.

Today I wised up a bit though and did an IP address search on him. All it gave me was the country code. But that was enough to make me suspicious. It was BJ, which is Benin, right next to Nigeria. The so called army email address was firstly [email protected] and now [email protected] because they were attacked apparently and lost their server. (I only today found out mail.com is a free mail site). He went on all about the SIRP and NIRP systems etc and how they'd been hacked etc. and even sent me his so called NATO security pass but I've today seen warning of them being photoshopped. it was all so believable and now because of that I'm possibly going to have to go bankrupt as I have no way of paying back these debts (in the thousands).

I've looked up the name on Facebook, on Google, anywhere possible but cannot find anything anywhere. On him, his son. Nothing. Ive done name searches, image searches etc. I'm feeling so vulnerable and stupid right now. I can't believe I fell for it. I only looked at local people on dating sites. His profile said he was from Melbourne. Then he told me he was on deployment after we started chatting. How can these people get away with this?!
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#293439 by Bryon Williams Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:50 pm
Welcome to Scamwarners,

I am sorry that you are a victim of this scam.

Just to confirm it is 100% a scam. You are in contact with a West African scammer.

He is lying about how NATO works. It is a lie that scammers make up.

Military members do not pay for leave. They earn free leave each year. Also only the member can request leave through his chain of command. His wife, mother, children nor internet girlfriend can do this. Also they would never have contact with his chain of command.

Military members have access to their money. They also do not pay for phones, internet or medical.

Military provides all meals.

Please stop all contact with the scammer. If you confront him he will continue to lie. Just disappear do not tell him why. Just vanish and block him. Ignore his text and calls.

He may contact you again with a new name and stolen pictures.

You will never get your money back. Do not believe anyone who say's they can get your back. This to will be a scam.



This is a warning from the Army about this scam.
http://www.army.mil/article/130861/Army ... nce_scams/

QUANTICO, Va. (July 30, 2014) -- Special Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly known as CID, are once again warning internet users worldwide about cyber criminals involved in an online crime that CID has dubbed "the Romance Scam."

CID special agents continue to receive numerous reports from victims located around the world regarding various scams of persons impersonating U.S. Soldiers online. Victims are usually unsuspecting women, 30 to 55 years old, who believe they are romantically involved with an American Soldier, yet are being exploited and ultimately robbed, by perpetrators who strike from thousands of miles away.

"We cannot stress enough that people need to stop sending money to persons they meet on the internet and claim to be in the U.S. military," said Chris Grey, Army CID's spokesman.

"It is very troubling to hear these stories over and over again of people who have sent thousands of dollars to someone they have never met and sometimes have never even spoken to on the phone," Grey said.

The majority of the "romance scams," are being perpetrated on social media and dating-type websites where unsuspecting females are the main target.

The criminals are pretending to be U.S. servicemen, routinely serving in a combat zone. The perpetrators will often take the true rank and name of a U.S. Soldier who is honorably serving his country somewhere in the world, or has previously served and been honorably discharged, then marry that up with some photographs of a Soldier off the internet, and then build a false identity to begin prowling the internet for victims.

The scams often involve carefully worded romantic requests for money from the victim to purchase special laptop computers, international telephones, military leave papers, and transportation fees to be used by the fictitious "deployed Soldier" so their false relationship can continue. The scams include asking the victim to send money, often thousands of dollars at a time, to a third party address.

Once victims are hooked, the criminals continue their ruse.

"We've even seen instances where the perpetrators are asking the victims for money to purchase "leave papers" from the Army, help pay for medical expenses from combat wounds or help pay for their flight home so they can leave the war zone," said Grey.

These scams are outright theft and are a grave misrepresentation of the U.S. Army and the tremendous amount of support programs and mechanisms that exist for Soldiers today, especially those serving overseas, said Grey.

Along with the romance-type scams, CID has been receiving complaints from citizens worldwide that they have been the victims of other types of scams -- once again where a cyber crook is impersonating a U.S. service member. One version usually involves the sale of a vehicle; where the service member claims to be living overseas and has to quickly sell their vehicle because they are being sent to another duty station. After sending bogus information regarding the vehicle, the seller requests the buyer do a wire transfer to a third party to complete the purchase. When in reality, the entire exchange is a ruse for the crook to get the wire transfer and leave the buyer high and dry, with no vehicle.

Army CID continues to warn people to be very suspicious if they begin a relationship on the internet with someone claiming to be an American Soldier and within a matter of weeks, the alleged Soldier is asking for money, as well as discussing marriage.


The majority of these scams have a distinct pattern to them, explained Grey.

The perpetrators often tell the victims that their units do not have telephones or they are not allowed to make calls or they need money to "help keep the Army internet running." They often say they are widowers and raising a young child on their own to pull on the heartstrings of their victims.

"We've even seen where the criminals said that the Army won't allow the Soldier to access their personal bank accounts or credit cards," said Grey.

All lies, according to CID officials.

"These perpetrators, often from other countries, most notably from West African countries, are good at what they do and quite familiar with American culture, but the claims about the Army and its regulations are ridiculous," said Grey.

The Army reports that numerous very senior officers and enlisted Soldiers throughout the Army have had their identities stolen to be used in these scams.

To date, there have been no reports to Army CID indicating any U.S. service members have suffered any financial loss as a result of these attacks. Photographs and actual names of U.S. service members have been the only thing utilized. On the contrary, the victims have lost thousands.

One victim revealed that she had sent more than $60,000 to the scammer. Another victim from Great Britain told CID officials that over the course of a year, she had sent more than $75,000 to the con artists.

"The criminals are preying on the emotions and patriotism of their victims," added Grey.

The U.S. has established numerous task force organizations to deal with this and other growing issues; unfortunately, the people committing these scams are using untraceable email addresses on Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc., routing accounts through numerous locations around the world, and utilizing pay-per-hour Internet cyber cafes, which often times maintain no accountability of use. The ability of law enforcement to identify these perpetrators is very limited, so individuals must stay on the alert and be personally responsible to protect themselves.

"Another critical issue is we don't want victims who do not report this crime walking away and thinking that a U.S. serviceman has ripped them off when in fact that serviceman is honorably serving his country and often not even aware that his pictures or identity have been stolen," said Grey.

What to look for:

DON'T EVER SEND MONEY! Be extremely suspicious if you are asked for money for transportation costs, communication fees or marriage processing and medical fees.

Carefully check out the stories you are being told. If it sounds suspicious, there is a reason, it's routinely false -- trust your instincts.

If you do start an internet-based relationship with someone, check them out, research what they are telling you with someone who would know, such as a current or former service member.

Be very suspicious if you never get to actually speak with the person on the phone or are told you cannot write or receive letters in the mail. Servicemen and women serving overseas will often have an APO or FPO mailing address. Internet or not, service members always appreciate a letter in the mail.

Military members have an email address that end in ".mil." If the person you are speaking with cannot sent you at least one email from a ".mil" (that will be the very LAST part of the address and nothing after), then there is a high probability they are not in the military.

Many of the negative claims made about the military and the supposed lack of support and services provided to troops overseas are far from reality -- check the facts.

Be very suspicious if you are asked to send money or ship property to a third party or company. Often times the company exists, but has no idea or is not a part of the scam.

Be aware of common spelling, grammatical or language errors in the emails.

Be cognizant of foreign and regional accents that do not match the person's story.

WHERE TO GO FOR HELP

Report the theft to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (FBI-NW3C Partnership) at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft.

Your report helps law enforcement officials across the United States in their investigations.

Report the theft by phone at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) or TTY, 1-866-653-4261.

Report the theft by mail at the following address:

Identity Theft Clearinghouse
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20580

Report the fraud by email to the Federal Trade Commission on Nigerian Scams via at [email protected].

For more information on CID, visit http://www.cid.army.mil.

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
#293441 by Mike Wilson Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:57 pm
Hello mezz,
I am sorry to hear that you are a victim off this crime. The person that you are in contact with is not in any military any where in the world. He si a scammer most likely located in Western Africa or Malaysia and everything that you told you was a lie to steal money from you.
As you have already discovered he is using a free email service instead of some official email service belonging to a government agency.
The best thing to do now is to stop all contact with this thief by ignoring all emails, texts and telephone calls. Do not tell him that you know it is a scam. Just go silent and let him wonder what went wrong.
You are not stupid, these lying cockroaches are good at telling lies and stealing money because that is all they do.

Please post the emails that asked for money to be sent as these will expose him an make it harder for him to steal from his next victim. Be sure to remove your personal information before posting.

It is ALWAYS a scam
If the pet seller or shipper asks for money to be sent via Western Union, Money Gram, any brand of gift card. Walmart To Walmart , Zelle , PayPal friends and family option, or mentions Cameroon
#293445 by mezz Sat Apr 30, 2016 1:43 pm
Thank you for the confirmation. I'm glad I've found out. These scoundrels are everywhere. I believe in karma and these people will get their just desserts one day. I have not and will not let him know he is on this site and I will cut all connections with him. Just hope one day I actually find a decent man who isn't too good to be true!
#293447 by Bryon Williams Sat Apr 30, 2016 1:47 pm
Yes, post the emails here. Remove any of your personal information from them prior to submitting.

I am going to move this thread to Romance Scam Forum. Go there and look for this topic "
Clinton Walter - [email protected]"

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/
#293448 by Terminator5 Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:04 pm
The profile on Mingle " walkonwaters123 " has been deactivated . Please post his emails here editing out your own personal information . Other victims will be searching for the script used in these emails . Also please post any and all email addresses , telephone numbers, Skype accounts yahoo messenger accounts , and links to any of his active profiles on ok cupid .

Daniel 8 :25
#293449 by mezz Sat Apr 30, 2016 2:55 pm
PROXY MARRIAGE PROCEDURES

PROXY DIRECTOR AND OBSERVER,

MRS M.............

THIS IS TO INFORM YOU THAT A COPY OF THE PROXY MARRIAGE FORM IS ATTACHED IN THIS MAIL,YOU NEED TO FILL THE SPACE FOR THE BRIDE AND SCAN BACK TO US FOR FUTHER PROCESS AND APPROVAL.

PROXY FEE............1450USD

MARRIAGE LICENCE ..... 1000USD

WEDDING RING.....2000USD (OPTIONAL)

WE EXPECT TO GET PAYMENT WITH THE 72HOURS ULTIMATUM,SO WE CAN START PROCESS AND FORWARD YOUR FORM FOR MARRIAGE BENEFIT PROCESS.

NB:IF YOU LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO START YOUR MARRIAGE BENEFIT PROCESS,YOU CAN ALWAYS WRITE TO US.

BASE COMMANDER
SOUTHERN IRAQ DEPLOYMENT CAMP.
#293450 by Terminator5 Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:08 pm
That definitely was not written by anyone from the USA . West African .

Daniel 8 :25
#293455 by malu53 Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:03 pm
not only into Romance Scam

Competent hard working with good manners, flexibly and easy to get along with Aupair applicants are needed in the following- Driver, Security guard,Nurse,Nanny.... You will be working and living with my family in Los angeles,phoenix ; interested applicants should forward resumes for assessment. e-mail:[email protected], Whatsapp: +16573334420...
#293457 by malu53 Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:19 pm
profile on FB
uid: 100010614966160
Clinton Walter
Works at Land & Building Developer
Studied at Arizona State University
Past: Camelback High School
Lives in Phoenix, Arizona
Married since September 13, 2005
From Phoenix, Arizona

uses pics of 2 diff. men on FB

Image

Image Image
#293462 by mezz Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:48 pm
This is an email I received just now. Gee they've got some nerve.

And one of the photos is one he sent me. The one with him in the 1973 shirt. What an idiot I am. I've lost $7000+ Most of it borrowed. How on earth do I deal with that now. I'm never gonna live this down. :-(


DIRECTOR OF LEAVE AND TRANSITION,

HELLO MRS WALTER,
WE GOT YOUR LETTER ON THE EMERGENCY LEAVE REQUEST AND ITS A REQUEST THAT REQUIRE PROPER ATTENTION FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR SERVICE MEN.THE PROCESSING FOR THE TRANSIT LEAVE COST 5000USD AND YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO MAKE PAYMENT FOR THE TICKET WHICH IS 2000USD,BECAUSE WE WILL CHECK THE AIRCRAFT AND ENSURE HIS SAFE FOR OUR VETEREAN TO FLY.
AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS MADE,THE PROCESS TAKES TWO DAYS AND HE WILL BE GIVEN EXIT FROM CAMP THE THIRD DAY,THE MOMENT HE GETS OUT OF CAMP,HE IS NO MORE THE OBLIGATION OF THE BASE TO WATCH OVER HIM,UNTIL HE IS BACK TO CAMP AGAIN.THIS LEAVE PROCESS IS OBSERVED FOR A MINIMUM OF A MONTH- 3MONTHS DEPENDING ON APPROVAL SECTION BY THE MILITARY HEADQUATERS.THE OFFICER CONCERNED WILL BE GIVEN THE FORM AS SOON AS WE GET A GO AHEAD TO START THE EMERGENCY LEAVE PROCESS.WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU TO START THE PROCESS ASAP.

NB: DUE TO THE FACT THAT YOU ARE OFFICIALLY MARRIED TO OUR SERVICE MAN,THIS LEAVE FUND WILL BE REFUNDED BACK TO YOU WHEN YOUR BENEFIT AS BEEN VALIDATED.

BASE COMMANDER.
#293467 by Bryon Williams Sat Apr 30, 2016 5:42 pm
mezz wrote:Image
Image



Thank you for posting the photo's.

Please keep in mind that people from all types of backgrounds get scammed by these thieves. If their different types of scam did not work then they would not be scamming and we will not be here.

We've seen lawyers and professional business people get ripped off by these low lifes.

Take time to heal and find a friend to talk with.

Please contacta moferatorstor if you have a question or information about this post.



Please do not tell the scammer he is posted here.


Please remember the fallen. https://www.odmp.org/

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