Military Romance Scam: Fake US Army Leave Permit Requests (2026)

[Risa]

2026 UPDATE: Military romance scams are exploding

Scammers posing as US soldiers remain the #1 romance scam type. They claim to need money for "leave permits," "satellite phones," or "shipping personal belongings home."

The truth:
• US military personnel do NOT pay for leave
• Soldiers have FREE communication access - no "satellite phone fees"
• The military does NOT ask family/partners to pay for ANYTHING
• Real soldiers can video chat - scammers always have excuses

2026 tactics:
• Stolen photos from real soldiers' social media
• Fake military ID cards and documents
• Claims of being deployed to Syria, Ukraine, or classified locations
• Requests via Bitcoin, gift cards, or wire transfer

Before sending money:
• Reverse image search their photos
• Ask to video chat (scammers will refuse or use deepfakes)
• Contact the military directly to verify: Army CID Romance Scam Info

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Original post with examples below:

Dear all, please help me!!
Actually this is not new topics because someone named Debbie ever posted the similar cases with title "US ARMY LEAVE SCAM - AFGHANISTAN". But let me tell me what is happening to me.
I have received request from a Sgt Harrison Stone (SSN 32006) in the US Army in Afghanistan to ask for a leave permit to meet him. I send the request to [email protected] and i have got confirmation on behalf of General Benjamin Hanks, Leave Permit Processing Dept., New York, New York, United States.

In the leave request form, they are asking for $ 880.00 (processing fee) to be paid so his leave will be granted. That fee should be send to the financial secretary to the below address:
NAME : SHEILA FERRYMAN
CITY : SPRINGFIELD
STATE : OHIO
ZIP : 45501-0271

Sgt Harrison Stone has an email address [email protected]. We have been corresponding via yahoo messenger.

Please.....please help me because I don't know anything about US Army because I am not American. Am i being scammed?? Harrison Stone also never never asked me for money.
Dear Debbie, if you read my messages, please let me know what should I do??
I am waiting the reply as soon as possible. Thank you.

[AlanJones]

Hi Risa and welcome to ScamWarners.

This is a definite scam.

The US Army would not write to you from a free email account (which is what the usa.com address is).

The army and the soldier are the same scammer, which is why the original contact has not asked you for any money. If you pay the $880 then there will be some reason why the soldier cant visit you (probably needing you to send more money).

I would advise you to cease all contact with both the "soldier" and the "army" as they are just looking to scam you out of your hard earned money.

[The Enchantress]

Welcome to Scamwarners Risa.

Alan is quite correct - a definite scam. Please cease all contact with this scammer.

Thank You for posting this information - it will alert and save others from being scammed.

If you have any questions or concerns please post - we will help you all we can.

This report here on Military scams may help;

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... f=7&t=5836

[Arnold]

I'm not American either, and know nothing about US Army leave arrangements. I've never ever heard of anyone having to pay for it.
You didn't say how the money was to be paid, but I'm sure it would be by Western Union or Moneygram, which allow the money to be collected anywhere in the world.

[Dotti]

I am from the US, and used to work extensively with a military organization.

1) US Army leave is not bought. There are no fees to be paid before leave will be granted. Military personnel are given a certain amount of leave time, just as your average worker is given a certain amount of vacation time. Additional emergency leaves are handled through official military channels, have very specific requirements, and do not require fees. (Incidentally, a boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancee has no standing whatsoever with the military, and a visit to him/her would not qualify as an emergency leave anyway.)
2) An outside person does not apply for leave for someone in the US military. In other words, if I am serving in the US military (any branch), and I need leave for some reason, I would apply for leave through official military channels. In some cases, my commanding officer might start paperwork, but my spouse/significant other/friend/business partner who is not in the military CANNOT apply for leave on my behalf.

As a general rule, if you are corresponding with someone who claims to be from any branch of the US military, and he asks you to complete ANY military forms, or you are contacted by any "military official" in relation to him/her, it is a scam.

[Arnold]

We now know of one such scammer quoting the email address [email protected].
www.usarmytransit.com was registered in May last year for 12 months, just for the email address that goes with it. No attempt has been made to create a website.
We're taking steps to have it shut down.

[Debbie]

Hi Risa,

Sorry, but this is definitely a scam. The address that was sent to me is also the same as he has sent to you, "Sheila Ferryman".
I really feel for you, but as was posted earlier, cease all contact. The guy that tried this on me was very sweet, bla bla bla.... but as soon as someone asks you for money, you know. I mean seriously, you have never met this person and it constitutes the same as asking a stranger to lend/give you money.

This guy that was contacting me and chatting to me via messenger "larrycole29@yahoo" actually admitted to me after I bust him, that yes, he is a scammer and lives in Nigeria and had the audacity to ask me to remain friends with him and asked me if I wanted to make "sum money on the net"! The total idiot.

It is a disapointment and you have most probably poured your heart out to him. But he is not real. Take it as a lesson learnt and move on. There are a few people out there on the dating sites that are real but they are few and far between. Please be careful! I have taught myself a few lessons and have been helped here on this site by Ralph, who is awesome! Don't ever send money...... please. I have busted three scammers so far in as many months, and after a while you get to know what to look for. There are some sites where you can go and trace ip addresses from the headers of emails, for free and are quite accurate, and you could always google his email address. Good luck out there and be careful.... very careful.

[feelinduped]

I, apparently, have fallen victim to the same scam. First, it was to send $450 to a satellite company for a phone system so that we could talk and "hear each other's voices" (Military Satellite Service [email protected]) and then, since he just couldn't "wait to meet me" and needed so desperately to be out of Iraq, he asked me to email his general for request for leave ([email protected] general is real, but I highly doubt the address is). When I was asked to send $2150 to cover the traveling costs of my "soldier man" (which would be "returned" to me once it was confirmed he was safely in the US), I'd had enough. I played along for a month, kept checking into everything he said and everything seemed to check out well enough (there is a TS2 Military phone service, there really is a General Raymond Odierno, even looked up the various places he said he'd been posted), but there was nothing specificly right or wrong with what he told me. I've been checking every scam website I can find and haven't found him on any of them (name or picture), so I held out hope that he was for real. But, when he got mad and felt "shattered" that I let him down because I couldn't pay the traveling fee for him to come to the states, I knew for sure that it was truly money he was after and I'd been duped.

If anyone has any more information on Staff Sergeant Michael D. Wells MOS: M19kM1A1Tanker, Baghdad, Iraq [email protected], please let me know. He claims to be 47, white male, widowed with 5 year old daughter, from Colorado Springs, mother in nursing home, father passed away, middle child in family. I would greatly appreciate any help with this! Thank you in advance for your help!!

[The Enchantress]

Welcome to Scamwarners FD. I am sorry you have lost money to this scammer.

It is a definite scam - please cease all contact with this professional thief and under no circumstances send any more money.

Everything he has said is a lie. Military personnel do not use free mail addresses (mail2Army - yahoo - consultant)

Please post any questions or concerns - we will help you all we can.

Please view these links;

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... f=7&t=5836

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewto ... =13&t=3607

by Dotti on Fri Feb 05, 2010 2:22 pm

I am from the US, and used to work extensively with a military organization.

1) US Army leave is not bought. There are no fees to be paid before leave will be granted. Military personnel are given a certain amount of leave time, just as your average worker is given a certain amount of vacation time. Additional emergency leaves are handled through official military channels, have very specific requirements, and do not require fees. (Incidentally, a boyfriend/girlfriend/fiancee has no standing whatsoever with the military, and a visit to him/her would not qualify as an emergency leave anyway.)

2) An outside person does not apply for leave for someone in the US military. In other words, if I am serving in the US military (any branch), and I need leave for some reason, I would apply for leave through official military channels. In some cases, my commanding officer might start paperwork, but my spouse/significant other/friend/business partner who is not in the military CANNOT apply for leave on my behalf.

As a general rule, if you are corresponding with someone who claims to be from any branch of the US military, and he asks you to complete ANY military forms, or you are contacted by any "military official" in relation to him/her, it is a scam.

[Ralph]

Hi FD and welcome,

I am sorry for the pain you have been put through by this scammer.

As I am sure you now realise it is a definate scam.

Could you please post in a new thread or forward the emails to me so we can create a new profile on this scammer.

Of note, scammers will change their fake names often to avoid being picked up in searches which may be the reason for not finding anything on that email address, what the scammers dont change as ofteen is their scripted emails, by posting them, if anybody searches on parts of the text theye will be directed to the scripts that you provide

If you have any questions, please ask

[feelinduped]

I forgot to mention that I "met" SSgt. Michael Wells on the dating website Mate1.com. According to his "profile", he hasn't been logged onto it in at least 3 weeks.

[The Enchantress]

Thank You very much for that additional information FD.

If you can please forward any information mails/photos/chats/user names/telephone numbers to Ralph - we can fully investigate and profile this scammer.

This will alert and save others from being scammed.

We will help you in any way that we can.

<hugs>

[septembersteph]

I too met a "Stsgt Ridley" on mate 1. This seems to be a favorite site for these scammers. I have a neighbor who is a police officer and in the military. She said that any valid military site will end in .gov. Also be on the look out for the site of "[email protected]" . This is another non military site that the scammers will send you to. The site (usa.com) is legitimate, but not as a military site. They are also pulling real forms from the site armyproperty.com and altering them to show that a $1200 payment is needed to process the leave. I wish that I had found this site before I deleted everything.

[Arnold]

The site (usa.com) is legitimate,

It's one of a large number of free addresses from mail.com. Scammers do like using them, especially @lawyer.com and @accountant.com, etc.

[vampireangel1076]

I have received a similar request from a person calling himself Spc. Christopher Graham. But what he didn't know is that i grew up in the military and that I know that there isn't no such thing as a Vocational leave request form. This person thinks I must be really dumb to fall for something like that.

The E mail address for this person is [email protected]
the "Generals" e mail is [email protected]

He is also using the E mail address Capt. [email protected].
And [email protected]

I meet him on a cite called smart date and through Facebook.

But i looked for the Real Christopher Graham on the US Army web site and found him. But he is no longer in Iraq, he is state side and lives in Utah. Also the scammer has a lot of pictures of Chris and his family.