Possible US Army Soldier Impersonalization?

Hi,

I met this guy on a dating website. He claimed to be Sgt. Frank Hammett on mission in Kabul - Afghanistan (His email is [email protected]). He also claimed he was in the army for 16 years and was thinking of taking an early retirement. And Afghanistan would be his last mission.

We chat mostly on Yahoo Mess almost 2-3 hours straight once daily. I've never seen him other than the pictures he sent me. These are the photos he sent me: http://imageshack.us/g/5/25841020186954759206780.jpg/
He claimed he could not use the webcam on mission so I couldn't actually see him live. He said he would be off duty for 6 months starting from May 20th. Hes going to pay me a visit and may relocate where I live according what he said.

So I sent him a cheap basic cell phone to talk to him instead. He said he's going to get a SIM card from Afghanistan, but I would have to pay to unlock it for him since he cannot use money on duty and his bank account has been freezed by the army when he's on mission. He just received the phone so we haven't talked yet. (He also asked me to send him one of my pairs of underwear for him... No comment on this...)

I had to send the package to Aflao (Ghana) to a diplomat assistant (named Baku Kennedy to *** House No. ASB-24 Gbedekope, Aflao, Ghana. Phone: +233244783816 *** or *** House # as4181,Melcom Road, Aflao,Volta Region, Ghana. Tell: +233244783816 *** ). The diplomat (Aidan Johnson, which seems to be a good friend of the soldier; email: [email protected]) gave me both addresses... So I sent the package to the second address and the assistant picked it up.

The soldier also asked me to send 50$ to the diplomat as a token of appreciation. The amount wasn't that big, so I agreed to do it. The diplomat asked me to send it through Western Union, which I did. His assistant went to pick the money up.

Then when he received the package from the diplomat, he told me he sent a package containing some gold and a huge amount of money, which I didn't expect at all... He explained he got it from a "treasure" he found with some collegues... He also said he paid 10,000$ to the diplomat to get all the registration paper done. Then he asked me to give 7,000$ from the package to the diplomat when I'll receive it.

Then I received this email from the diplomat:
" [...] I've checked the wight and everything on your package, i'll have to get some necessary documents from Togo before i can proceed to your destination. I must get the documents there because it's cheaper and affordable. This documents will cost me $3000 and i'll advise you start arranging it down to be sent to me there before i get there. As i write, am registering your package and will send you an acknowledgment notice which you'll reply before i can proceed. I have a friend who works in the UN office there and i want you to let me know if you can get the cash sent to his name for him to get the paper works done before i get there to enable me get to your destination without wasting so much time there. I'll await your email,thank you.
Dip: Aidan Johnson." He also said he would thank me personally when he will arrive at my address.

Then when I asked if the soldier can get the package back, and give the 3k from the package to the diplomat, he said it wasn't possible. He also said he received this email from the diplomat :
"Dear sir, am on my way to Dubai and will proceed from there to Togo to obtain the necessary documents covering your package. I want you to contact your partner about the cash i'll need for all that job to enable me get to my point of delivery. Sergeant, if am not able to get the cash as at the time i'll get to Togo, i'll be left with no choice than to get the package scanned and handed over to the internal revenue to be kept at their mass storage. I'll await your email,thank you.
Dip: Aidan Johnson."

Basically if I don't give 3k to the diplomat, the package will be lost and the soldier would be in trouble if they found out what's inside the box.

So here I am now, wondering what I should do. To trust or not?
Please help me.
I am very sorry for the long post...
Thank you!

This is an example of an email he wrote:

"I feel the same. I want to love you with all my heart forever. I want to be there for you when times are good or bad. I want ti rejoice with you when you are happy and be a comfort to you when illness or ;life strikes us a blow. Nothing matters to me but your love. I f I could, I would give you all I had on a silver. platter. K now that you are my one true love and have my heart and soul forever my sweey!!!...lots of kisses and hugs

From your lovely Hammett"

Thank you!

Welcome to Scamwarners NTBH and I regret to inform you that the reason you are sending money and items to Ghana is nothing to do with diplomats, but because you're dealing with a West African scammer who has told you nothing but lies, and who will just keep making increasing demands for money until you stop paying or run out of cash.

The location of any diplomat is easy to find because it's at an embassy and they don't run errands for any soldiers, and certainly not those located in Afghanistan The army also doesn't freeze soldiers accounts unless they've been arrested for a serious crime.

The whole story is so bizarre and fanciful it is utterly ridiculous and you must quickly wake up to the risks you're taking. Even paying him large amounts of money won't make him love you, but he'll hang around as long as you make him believe you can keep up with his financial demands. He'll be telling the same story to other victims.

Hello NTBH, I am sorry you have to go through this. I had almost same scam just last month.
A good lawyer told me this , hope this can help you.
" This is a military scam. What will happen if you agree to accept the package is that you'll then get an email telling you that it got stuck at customs and you'll be expected to wire your money via Western Union or Moneygram to release it. We see this con game all of the time here.

The fact that your "soldier" is asking you to do this means he's a scammer.

The minute a so-called US soldier asks you for money he is scamming you. The minute a US soldier involves you in any enteprise having to do with Mailing and/or receiving packages he is scamming you.

US soldiers can mail their own packages via military mail, (they don't pay for it and don't use a courier service). They can use telephones, use the internet and get to their bank and credit card accounts no matter where in the world they are. US servicemen don't have to pay for their leave, which they earn from time spent in the military and which is nothing an outsider can apply for on his behalf, nor do they have to pay for their discharge papers. US servicemen don't need strangers to pay their travel expenses -- they get most of it free -- and the last thing they are is all alone in the world. They have an enviable support network in the US government. Any suggestion to the contrary is pure nonsense, a figment of the imagination of West African scammers who have no idea how our military works. US officers make a very fine living.

Here's how you can tell for sure if he is really in the US military:

1) Ask him for his official military email address. This is not classified information. A real US soldier may have a classified email address as well, but he also has a regular military email address with which he can write to his friends and family. Every soldier does. When he gives his email address to you, it should end in .mil It will NOT end in .com To the right of the @ sign, it should end in army.mil and not, for example, gmail.com.

If it doesn't end in .mil, he is a fake. Only US servicemen can get a .mil email address, and if he can't produce one that you can email him back and forth with, he's scamming you.

Scammers can fake that on the sending end and make it look like you are getting email from a .mil address, but it can't be faked on the receiving end.. So if he does give you a .mil address, to make sure his is for real, don't just hit reply and send it back, start a new letter and type in the army.mil address yourself manually. Then write a message and send it. If it doesn't bounce back as undeliverable and he actually answers it, then and only then, is he the real thing.

2) Get his name, social security number and date of birth and enter it here on the Army's website. This too, is not classified information and, in fact, would be information he'd have to disclose if he were ever captured. The site I have linked you to should tell you if he is a soldier and then where he is and who his commanding officer is. If he won't tell you, then you know he's a scammer. He has no reason to refuse to give it to you. If he does but the site doesn't recognize him, that tells you he's a scammer too.

3) Look up his picture or ask about him on the "Wall of Shame" on this site. The blogger is a soldier who was upset to find that someone had used his photo as part of a military scam. He has created the blog to warn others, and he tries to keep these up to date as people report military scammers to him.

Cease all contact with this guy. You don't need to explain anything. Just walk away. Do not send him any money and do not give him a chance to further manipulate you. He is not who, what or where you think he is. He's a West African sitting at an internet cafe with a bunch of his pals, all sweet-talking too trusting, goodhearted men and women such as yourself out of their life savings. If you have sent him money already, report the fraud to your local police and to the FBI, online at their Internet Crime Complaint center, at IC3.gov. Add his name to the military blog to warn others."

NTBH, you can check out my post " does any one can help me out this scam ? " on 20 April.
I had post the photo which he stolen and fake certificates.



* When people want your money via Western Union, that is scam. *

You have guessed correctly NTBH. As the other members have indicated, you are not dealing with a military person but an imposter instead. I'm sorry the shifty trickster has wasted your time. RE: quote = He claimed he could not use the webcam on mission so I couldn't actually see him live. = end quote. The reason being the tosser is leading you up the garden path for as long as possible. As soon as it appears on camera to you, the games over. Your best course of action is to simply stop communicating with the individual. Don't give any rhyme or reason for doing so. Also a good idea to not confront the scammer because it will only tell more lies and confuse you more. Another idea is to scroll to the top of this page. The site search function on the right hand side allows users to search the site. Type in the words, military scam. The results will amaze you and by reading some, they all have a familiar theme. Normally when one sees military person and so called dating site, usually spells scam. Gives no great joy to say.

Wow thank you so much guys!
It's greatly appreciated.

I was a bit suspicious as I chatted with the "soldier". Several details lead me to think there was something fishy about him, but then he seemed so sweet. So I overlooked those details and hints. Now that I think about it, everything makes sense! The way he talked, the details he gave, his English, the American slangs which seemed to be quite unfamiliar for him, etc.
When the so-called diplomat asked me for 3k, it was my real red flag. So I started to do my own research.
I feel stupid for not doing my research about how the military works before...

What if he actually sent a package with my name and my address on it, and it gets stuck at the customs... Would the customs call me and make me pay the custom fees, or whatever?
As Freeman said in his/her post: " This is a military scam. What will happen if you agree to accept the package is that you'll then get an email telling you that it got stuck at customs and you'll be expected to wire your money via Western Union or Moneygram to release it. We see this con game all of the time here. "

Hi again,

I just received another email from the "diplomat":
"Dear XXX,
I'm currently in Dubai to deliver to a minister of state.I'll proceed to Togo to deliver to an ambassador where i will process all the necessary documents covering your package. I'm sending you a copy of the receipt of the Dubai customs clearance for safe keeping,even though i will give you a hard copy when i arrive,thank you.
Dip: Aidan Johnson.
PS: Am sending you a copy the United Nations Movement Permit which am supposed to send you before proceeding moving from Afghanistan but because i was so busy i could not. I want you to keep it for record keeping,thank you."

Here are the 2 documents I received:
http://imageshack.us/g/4/1stmaydubaicustomsaidan.jpg/

Can you please check this for me. Not sure what these are...
Thanks so much!

They are nothing more than completely fake documents created by this scammer to try to convince you he is real. I particularly like the issue date of 30 May on the bogus certificate, since last I checked today is only the 1st of May!

There is no soldier, and no package. There is just an African scammer, sending emails to you and other women (with other women he may be using the same fake identity or a different one), writing (or copying) whatever he thinks you want to hear, while trying to set the stage and justify the inevitable money requests.

This isn't just happening to women, its happening to gay men as well. Just happened to me, but the very moment he started telling me about packages and secrets I thought it was fishy, so I googled the name of his diplomat, Diplomat Aidan Johnson, and it brought me here. He was using a different name and picture, but everything he said was the same.

Welcome to Scamwarners darkzephyr,

Scammers do not discriminate they target all walks of life.

Please post the new names, photo's and email address the scammer is using now. This will help other men avoid his scam attempts.

Bryon

Please see the images at: https://imageshack.com/i/myubuhj

This should be a sticky. This is all SO VERY WELL SAID AND WELL EXPLAINED. KUDOS AND THANKS

Hello NTBH, I am sorry you have to go through this. I had almost same scam just last


month.
A good lawyer told me this , hope this can help you.
" This is a military scam. What will happen if you agree to accept the package is that you'll then get an email telling you that it got stuck at customs and you'll be expected to wire your money via Western Union or Moneygram to release it. We see this con game all of the time here.

The fact that your "soldier" is asking you to do this means he's a scammer.

The minute a so-called US soldier asks you for money he is scamming you. The minute a US soldier involves you in any enteprise having to do with Mailing and/or receiving packages he is scamming you.

US soldiers can mail their own packages via military mail, (they don't pay for it and don't use a courier service). They can use telephones, use the internet and get to their bank and credit card accounts no matter where in the world they are. US servicemen don't have to pay for their leave, which they earn from time spent in the military and which is nothing an outsider can apply for on his behalf, nor do they have to pay for their discharge papers. US servicemen don't need strangers to pay their travel expenses -- they get most of it free -- and the last thing they are is all alone in the world. They have an enviable support network in the US government. Any suggestion to the contrary is pure nonsense, a figment of the imagination of West African scammers who have no idea how our military works. US officers make a very fine living.

Here's how you can tell for sure if he is really in the US military:

1) Ask him for his official military email address. This is not classified information. A real US soldier may have a classified email address as well, but he also has a regular military email address with which he can write to his friends and family. Every soldier does. When he gives his email address to you, it should end in .mil It will NOT end in .com To the right of the @ sign, it should end in army.mil and not, for example, gmail.com.

If it doesn't end in .mil, he is a fake. Only US servicemen can get a .mil email address, and if he can't produce one that you can email him back and forth with, he's scamming you.

Scammers can fake that on the sending end and make it look like you are getting email from a .mil address, but it can't be faked on the receiving end.. So if he does give you a .mil address, to make sure his is for real, don't just hit reply and send it back, start a new letter and type in the army.mil address yourself manually. Then write a message and send it. If it doesn't bounce back as undeliverable and he actually answers it, then and only then, is he the real thing.

2) Get his name, social security number and date of birth and enter it here on the Army's website. This too, is not classified information and, in fact, would be information he'd have to disclose if he were ever captured. The site I have linked you to should tell you if he is a soldier and then where he is and who his commanding officer is. If he won't tell you, then you know he's a scammer. He has no reason to refuse to give it to you. If he does but the site doesn't recognize him, that tells you he's a scammer too.

3) Look up his picture or ask about him on the "Wall of Shame" on this site. The blogger is a soldier who was upset to find that someone had used his photo as part of a military scam. He has created the blog to warn others, and he tries to keep these up to date as people report military scammers to him.

Cease all contact with this guy. You don't need to explain anything. Just walk away. Do not send him any money and do not give him a chance to further manipulate you. He is not who, what or where you think he is. He's a West African sitting at an internet cafe with a bunch of his pals, all sweet-talking too trusting, goodhearted men and women such as yourself out of their life savings. If you have sent him money already, report the fraud to your local police and to the FBI, online at their Internet Crime Complaint center, at IC3.gov. Add his name to the military blog to warn others."

NTBH, you can check out my post " does any one can help me out this scam ? " on 20 April.
I had post the photo which he stolen and fake certificates.



* When people want your money via Western Union, that is scam. *

I had almost exactly the same bad experience in Fenruary this year. Apparently an Office in the British army currently deployed to Afghanistan, supposed to retire soon. We chatted on Skype almost daily, but never talked. I only had some photographs, which turned out to be stolen from a US army man, of course in a US uniform. This can also be found on Internet. He was going to send me some personal valuable things. A so called friend of his, a Diplomat working for the UN contacted me for details and confirmation of my name and address. He even emailed an ID, a fake of course. Photographs and UN ID fakes can easily be checked on Internet. When he was supposed to arrive there was a problem with customs in transit and he wanted me to pay CHF 13000 to get a stamp and release the package. Then I knew that this was a scam and nothing else. So take your time to make checks before trusting anyone from dating sites. The name of the man who tried to scam me is James Gough. Afterwards I found the same pictures on different dating sites and facebook with following names: Mark, Frank, Michael, James, Owen Gough or Gouge.

Welcome Gromper,
It sounds like you identified the scam relatively early, and hopefully you didn't lose any money, but even if you didn't, the scammer will still have done harm to your emotional health and your ability to trust others, and you need to allow yourself to heal from those wounds.

While scammers most often pretend to be American soldiers, we see a fair number posing as British soldiers (sometimes they do pick photos of actual British soldiers) and we've seen a few posing as soldiers from other countries such as Australia. While you obviously can't ask these other soldiers for a .mil address, other key points still hold true for soldiers in other countries.
-they make their own requests, and you do not make requests on their behalf.
-they do not need to pay for leave or retirement.
-you do not need to pay for an expensive phone service to talk to them.
-they do not need you to accept packages with money or valuable items.
-they can access their banking systems

I do want to address some points about the explanation above. While there is some very good information there, some is misleading as well.

Get his name, social security number and date of birth and enter it here on the Army's website. This too, is not classified information.

It's a better test of whether he is an idiot than whether he is a soldier. Nobody with any knowledge of basic security would hand their social security/DOB combo to a random stranger on the internet. They enable someone to access your credit information and are the key pieces of information needed for identity theft. If an internet romance asked me for my social security number without a darn good reason, it would make HIM a likely scammer, not me. Failure to share social security with you is NOT an indication of a scammer.

Look up his picture or ask about him on the "Wall of Shame" on this site. The blogger is a soldier who was upset to find that someone had used his photo as part of a military scam. He has created the blog to warn others, and he tries to keep these up to date as people report military scammers to him.

Every time someone gives advice like that it makes me cringe a bit. The reason? The talk of keeping the list up to date will lead some victims to believe that there is a comprehensive list of scammers out there that they can just check for their person. Unfortunately, this can lead to the erroneous belief that if they don't find their love posted there, he/she must be real.
That particular blog is one of MANY sites displaying photos that have been used by scammers. It is by no means a comprehensive list. If you find photos of the soldier posted on ANY anti-scam site, then it is extremely likely you are not dealing with a real soldier. And if you don't find them posted on any anti-scam site, it does NOT rule out scamming-it can simply mean that nobody has reported them yet, no great surprise when you consider that a large percentage of these scams are never reported.

And while Moneygram and WU are most definitely signs of a scam, they are not the only methods scammers use.

Basically, the bottom line is simple: You do not need to pay for a real relationship. If you have met someone online, and before you even meet him/her face-to-face you are asked to send money or valuable items to ANYONE, no matter what the method (money transfer, prepaid card, bank-to-bank, etc.) then don't walk, RUN away.

Look out. For samuel perez he claims he s a sgt in us army in libya keeps asking to send money via money gram to process leave and retirement forms and for us to send him a cell phone because he has no acces to internet unless hes at base camp i think this is a scam. His email is [email protected] he either dont have a .mil acct or wont tell u