Information on romance scams and scammers.
#223064 by Ms Gullible? Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:32 am
I've been corresponding with someone who says he is attached to the US Army in Afghanistan. He's sent lots of pictures and internet searches do not show him with any other names or on other sites. He says he is being posted to Syria in several days time and asked me to write to [email protected] where I could request a phone for each of us, so we could keep in touch.
I suspected the reply was not genuine, because of grammatical and spelling errors etc, but I can't find any real evidence of whether there is some sort of scam going on. I haven't been asked for money or anything, but I am asked for my address and phone number when ordering these phones.
Can anyone advise me? Do you know anyone who has been given one of these phones? It seems very unlikely to me that anyone would be giving them away; I feel there must be a request for money coming somewhere along the line.
This is my first post on here, so I'm sorry if it's been too long and rambling.
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#223065 by TerranceBoyce Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:59 am
Welcome to Scamwarners Ms Gullible?

There is no doubt whatsoever that the person you're dealing with is a scammer. This is a very common ploy by scammers and he will be asking you to pay this fictitious company to set up this communication arrangement.

The truth is that the USA has no troops in Syria and, even if there are covert ground forces operating there it would be a massive breach of security for them to mention it and to set up an insecure means of communication with a private individual. This lie is quite common among romance scammers and you will find that you are merely contacting the scammer through another email address he has set up.

This is usually a story used by West African scammers some of whom operate out of the Far East.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
#223104 by HillBilly Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:25 pm
Ms Gullible? wrote: He says he is being posted to Syria in several days time and asked me to write to [email protected] where I could request a phone for each of us, so we could keep in touch.
I suspected the reply was not genuine, because of grammatical and spelling errors etc, but I can't find any real evidence of whether there is some sort of scam going on. I haven't been asked for money or anything, but I am asked for my address and phone number when ordering these phones.
Can anyone advise me? Do you know anyone who has been given one of these phones? It seems very unlikely to me that anyone would be giving them away; I feel there must be a request for money coming somewhere along the line.
This is my first post on here, so I'm sorry if it's been too long and rambling.


Welcome Ms Gullible?, most of here would rather answer a question or ten, rather than see someone get scammed. Don't be sorry for trying to educate yourself, its never a bad thing.

As Terrance said, it is undoubtedly a scam. We don't want to point out all of the exact problems with it in the thread here, because if the scammers read it, they can improve their skills.

it may be good for you to go to the romance scam section of the forum here to educate yourself more. You seem like you've all ready learned some things about online dating, and checking things out. You can find that forum here :
viewforum.php?f=13

Please read all of the stickies, they are the ones that sort of look like screw in light bulbs (also at the top of the forum). Especially the one about imposters of the military.

If you can post the fake name of your scammer, his email address(es), other contact info he has given you, and maybe even the first couple of letters he sent to you ( remove all of your personal information before posting) including the complete headers, that might help others doing searches on the internet debating the same questions you are right now.

#223105 by Dotti Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:40 pm
It's just a variant of the same "communicate with your (fake) soldier" scam that has been going on for years.

The "phone" will be free but you will soon be told that you have to pay for some kind of plan, or there will be fees or taxes that must be paid first.

Regardless of location, you do NOT need a special phone to talk to a soldier. He does NOT need to buy a special phone to talk to you. The military ensures that soldiers can communicate with their loved ones whenever it is feasible--and if it is not feasible for a time (due to location or security factors) then you wouldn't be hearing from him anyway, as he would not be in a position to be chatting with strange women on the internet.

Need to post photos? http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219
Are you a victim of a romance scam? Read here for advice and FAQ's.
#223263 by Grandma Grim Thu Oct 16, 2014 4:44 pm
Please get the picture out of your head that the man you may have seen in a picture is the man you are emailing.

He won't be at all. The US has no troops on the ground in Syria and I suspect won't anytime soon.

Sorry.... he is a liar, like all the rest and please get out soon. It doesn't sound like you have lost any money yet but these evil people pray on the nicest. So, please drop him... read more on here.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE never tell a scammer he is posted here....
Never Ever send money to anyone via Western Union,Moneygram or Bank if you haven't met them.
If unsure, please ask... better ask and know than trust and be scammed....
#223274 by vonpaso xlura Thu Oct 16, 2014 9:35 pm
fastservice.com is one of many free email domains, like consultant.com, run by world.com and GMX. No one who provides phones to anything as big as the military would use such a domain.

Please post the emails. We can probably tell by the errors where the scammer is from. Also other victims may be searching for the text in the emails. Include the headers, which may tell where the scammer actually is.

... ni los estafadores heredarán el reino de Dios. 1 Cor. 6:10
#224053 by Ms Gullible? Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:07 pm
RE: Sunday evening‏
RE: Sunday evening
dennis leblanc
Thank you to all who replied to my first posting. This is a recent email from the man I suspected of being a scammer. I tried to copy his photos on to here, but it didn't work.
I will try again though.


[Flag this message]
Photos
To: Removed (BW)
Hello My honey, Yes this happenings come sometimes but believe me it only makes me stronger, Once i'm home, my protecting arms will be around you and you will never get hurt. I love to get emails from you too and i also get worried about you too. Now i'm just counting down the days till i come home darling....I love you and will always love you
#224058 by Dotti Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:34 pm
That small sample of writing alone tells me he is African.

There is a link in my signature line on how to post photos. Do keep in mind that the scammer is not the man in the photos. He has stolen the photos from the internet to support his fake character.

Need to post photos? http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3219
Are you a victim of a romance scam? Read here for advice and FAQ's.
#224061 by Ms Gullible? Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:51 pm
Thanks very much Dotti. I have tried to upload photos, with no success, so I've contacted a moderator now and hope I can put the picture up for all to see. I so appreciate the helpfulness of the people on this site. You're great!
Ms Gullible?
#224127 by Ms Gullible? Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:40 am
This email arrived this morning; I will not be replying, needless to say. Thank you to everyone who has helped me with this issue; it's so good to know now for sure that he is not someone genuine who is going to be hurt by anything I do or do not do.
Here is the email I received today, just as an example of his correspondence.
Ms Gullible? (but not any more)

RE: Saturday Night‏
RE: Saturday Night
dennis leblanc
06:22
[Flag this message]
To:
I've lost hope now, I guess i tried all i could baby, I love you so much, My batch leaves in few hours, You can still get the iridium handheld as it would be delivered to me in Syria and would be delivered to you as well. I love you with all my heart. I loved you, I love you and will always love you, I told you that there cant be love without trust or believing in me, Loving you was a risk, Yes you are right i do not know who you are, But i think i've deprived myself of too much and its hi-time i loosed myself a little, I love you more than you know, Even without seeing you, It hurts that you feel skeptical about me all the time but i never do because i've put my mind, body and soul into making this work. It hurts to know this would be my last email to you and i will not even be able to read a reply, Do what you can to get the iridium and i would be waiting in Syria. With all love. x
Dennis.x

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