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

[Iamnot2stupid15]

I have fallen to same trap as any of the other women out there...with ONE major exception. I got CURIOUS...I wanted to know EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW about the U.S. Army starting with the insignia on the(his) helmet. His lucky that the infantry is still active, at least that part is real. Clearly, I made an "error in judgement" by going into one them online dating site. It was weird when a "Army man" says he loves you, wants you to be the mother to his little daughter cause his wife passed away from cancer. And suddenly, asks you to help him go home! Hello! All the soldiers in any level of the military sacrifices their lives, sanity and safety all in the name of...GOD and COUNTRY...the least thing the U.S. Army or any country that has an army COULD DO is..to make sure their soldiers gets the chance to be with their families back home. (so i toild him, i can't send him any money cause the bills got to them first! ) I am sure that the U.S. Army has contracted various major airlines to bring their boys/gals safely back home. Here in the "non-military world"...it is ILLEGAL to put a hold on someone's account...much less if you are in the military. So, I confronted him about it...and low and behold...this so-called soldier got quiet! I am not that smart, clearly, I made a mistake, but I am a very curious person..once you get that going...I would research you to see if you are for real. (no i am not a stalker...just someone, who is computer savvy..lol)

[Anna francis]

Hi my name is Anna I met a soldier on line badoo his name is Jimmy landford supposedly we've fallen in love. I even feel guilty for doing this but ran across your page wondering how much deployment cost is he had mentioned he needed help and didn't have anyone we didn't get into personal business just thought on love he seemed so genuine I still do t want to believe. Please he only mentioned money once and said forget it don't stress I told him I don't have any which is true we continue yi coressponde any advice

[Bryon Williams]

He is a scammer and a thief.

Never send money to some stranger you met on the internet.

The military will take care of all their military members he does not have to pay anything. Everything is provided for him.

[Samcali]

This can't be a coincidence.....
This woman who is trying to convince me to send her money wrote this today:

I want you to know can´t stop thinking about you, even if I try my hardest not to.
Much as I know there isn´t much you can do against an ocean of distance between us, you still don´t seem to leave my thoughts.
You are my most constant memory. you are the consolidate passion in my heart, in my body and in every inch of my skin.
Now and forever, all I wish is to feel your head on my shoulder even after when the unmerciful signs of time decide to take away that light in your eyes and the strength of your body. You, my sweet heart will always have the loveliest and most beautiful face and I will always see in your smile the silver lining of my dreams. I love you so much honey.

She's calling herself Audrey Johnson
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010583980266
Working as a paramedic in Houston Sam Base. She's trading in crude oil and her stock is now stuck at the Dubai Customs because the tax is not payed. She is trying to convince me to send her thousands of dollars. The oil will be an investment in our future she says.

Hi:

He had not asked me for money yet. He only requested I send an email to get his Leave Permit.

I also noticed some contradictions. At first he said he was German and that he has never been to North America. Toward the end he told me he was American and he was from NY .

He was so sweet! Read this:

"Hello Baby it has been a very busy day for me. I can´t stop thinking about you, even if I try my hardest not to. Much as I know there isn't much you can do against an ocean of distance between us, you still don´t seem to leave my thoughts.. You are my most constant memory,you are the consolidate passion in my heart, in my body and in every inch of my skin. Your cute eyes still keeps mine open to see you next to me. I want to wake up close to a lady with that beautiful eyes and cute lips to kiss everyday for the rest of my life. Hope my baby girl and little prince are well? cheers.. Hugs "

So sad that I can find a real man who writes like this

Regards

[Anna francis]

My soldeir also is gull of romance I thought only us could make such beautiful text After I even knew he was a scammer I still talk to him but just now I completly blocked him My excuse I was keeping g him busy and saving another person from a sca by continually keeping them interested I am now over it and can laugh about it thank yos this site I was saved money and headache and learned a valuable lesson

[Bluerain33]

I was added as a friend on Facebook and this guy Mcgee Wack told me he was in the military based in Iraq. ..this is what he told me so I copied the whole thing and pasted it into Google to discover its the same line these scammers are using on innocent women so please watch out for this paragraph and if in doubt check it out

I joined the Military academy at the age of 16. .. My mom was a head teacher and dad was in the medical field of the army and later worked with the UN .I am an E-6 Staff Sergeant (SSG) and now working with the US Army. I also act as a platoon sergeant in the absence of the Sergeant First Class. I am the leader of my squad. I am a non commission officer and I work in the junior management of the military

[Pam Amerson]

I am going through something similar to this now with a General Howard Nadler who is in Syria right now. He says he want to come home to meet me but must apply a Vacation Form and the processing fees are $1500. I met him on Facebook and wanted to know if anyone else has heard of him and if this is a legit request. After reading Rissa and other post I guess not.
Thanks everyone

[Bryon Williams]

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.

Post his email address and Facebook link. This will help other women avoid his 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.

[aepril]

An example of an email which says the leave has been approved.

HELLO MADAM,

WE LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT SARGEANT NIELSEN ERIC DECKER LEAVE AS BEEN APPROVED!

Sequel to the mail send to US at 01:13 PM on 22/01/2016 at our satellite products TLNN5 satellite, In accordance with the UNITED NATIONS Military Leave under section, 15-152. Approval is GRANTED! for your request of SERGEANT NIELSEN ERIC DECKER (ID NO: US-T373285) (Civ-Mil or CMR)

We are hereby notifying you regarding your spouse dispatch TICKET FEE, we urge you to get back to us as soon possible to avoid the cancellation of the whole processing.

INSTRUCTION
- He will be liable to receive some amount of money for leave bonus,which will be claimed by his beneficiary due to spouse request, he shall be issued a liberty pass card.
- spouse requesting for leave must send his or her home address and Local Airport for his arrival.
-He is liable to leave to his designated country 72hours after all processing is completed
- Spouse requesting for a leave must pay all necessary charges accordingly.
- On no account should a third party intervene with the whole processing
-And the charges will be refund back to you, AS THE REGISTERED SPOUSE along side with his leave bonus, deployment allowance, family separation allowance, military family allowance

Please get back to us soon. If SERGEANT NIELSEN ERIC DECKER could complete his purpose of leave before [30 ]days, And the charges will be refund back to you along side with his leave bonus, deployed allowance, family separation allowance, military family allowance. We assure you that he will gets home as soon as payment is confirmed within two [2] working days.

Ticket charges of $546 US dollars should be paid by you for quick response and processing.

MODE OF PAYMENT
Make your payment via western union or money gram to our nearest UN Zonal official department headquarter(INDIA)

OFFICER IN CHARGE: JAMES KENNY LEBLANC (as Receiver)
ADDRESS: 36TH INFANTRY ,CENTRAL BASE AVENUE,KOLKATA
COUNTRY: INDIA.


PLEASE ATTACH EVIDENCE OF PAYMENT.

Please we do believe you keep this information as confidential as possible so as to avoid any unforeseen occurrence(s)

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN ORDER TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.



Thanks for your cooperation.
Lt Col Sarah Clinton,
Administrative/Processing Department ( US ARMY ).



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[Ems80]

I’m not sure if I’m being scammed or if I’m being over cautious!!!
I met a guy through tinder, yes I know, who to be fair didn’t initially tell me he was a “Marine” we swapped numbers and started speaking via whatsapp and his whatsapp name came through with sgt, which having a little bit of military knowledge from being a cadet I immediately questioned. He told me he was a sergeant in US Marine Corps.
There are things that he says that don’t quite ring true and thus far has stalled giving me an address to write to which has set alarm bells. He’s sent me pictures of himself and even one of him holding a board with my name and the date on it when I directly questioned him because he said he’d been the victim of fraud and couldn’t access his money…….alarm bells.
Also the picture he sent which was clearly ”him” holding my name he was wearing lapel pins with the rank of L/Cpl not Sgt (I know my badges of rank).
He states hes a Marine working with the UN in Nigeria, but I can’t write to him, no emails, no phone calls! He sent me pictures of his child and told me about his childs condition which I know to be life limiting but he doesn’t seem to be appropriately concerned about this.
My gut is telling me that all is not right but the photo with my name fights this and I'd hate to tar a good person with the scammer brush.
What do you think?

[AlanJones]

He's a scammer. There are no US military in Nigeria and if he was legitimate, he would be able to give you his real US military email address - every member of the military has one and there is no restriction on giving them out. And if he was deployed, he wouldn't be spendign his time on Tinder, any free time he had he would spend communicating with his friends and family.

The picture with your name on has been stolen from the same source as all the others and photoshopped to add your name in place of whatever was on the board originally.

The best thing to do is just block him and don't respond to him any further. Don't accuse him of being a scammer, he will just deny it and carry on trying to scam you.

[Ems80]

Thank you! hadnt got around to asking for money but wont get the chance now

[Jewles74]

I just recently met this guy on meetme, who is suppose to be in the united states army and he is over in afghanastan. we started talking on the meetme website than he had asked me to remove myself from the dating site. He seems to be sweet and a true believer of god.
well I am new to this site and when I was going through the scammers pictures I recognize his picture to be on here. he has sent me several pictures and videos of himself, he told me he was divorced with two kids and his wife agreed to have a baby to another man while he was deployed in afghanastan,
He just recently started talking about taking a leave and he sent me a copy of the leave paper and at first he told me it would cost 350.00 for his leave and then I had asked him who was paying for that, he sent me an email telling me he just wanted me to have a copy of his leave paper.
His name he is going by is Brandt Johnson and his email is [email protected] and if anyone would notice at the bottom of the email it says sent from ANA MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel or it will say sent from S.A MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel now I don't know if this guy is the real guy or not, but I have asked him to Skype or get on viber so we could talk to each other but he told me he cant because of terrorist acts.
I do have his pictures and videos saved though and I am still talking to him, but I need to know if he is a scammer or not.

[Jewles74]

I just recently met this guy on meetme, who is suppose to be in the united states army and he is over in afghanastan. we started talking on the meetme website than he had asked me to remove myself from the dating site. He seems to be sweet and a true believer of god.
well I am new to this site and when I was going through the scammers pictures I recognize his picture to be on here. he has sent me several pictures and videos of himself, he told me he was divorced with two kids and his wife agreed to have a baby to another man while he was deployed in afghanastan,
He just recently started talking about taking a leave and he sent me a copy of the leave paper and at first he told me it would cost 350.00 for his leave and then I had asked him who was paying for that, he sent me an email telling me he just wanted me to have a copy of his leave paper.
His name he is going by is Brandt Johnson and his email is [email protected] and if anyone would notice at the bottom of the email it says sent from ANA MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel or it will say sent from S.A MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel now I don't know if this guy is the real guy or not, but I have asked him to Skype or get on viber so we could talk to each other but he told me he cant because of terrorist acts.
I do have his pictures and videos saved though and I am still talking to him, but I need to know if he is a scammer or not.

[Jewles74]

I just recently met this guy on meetme, who is suppose to be in the united states army and he is over in afghanastan. we started talking on the meetme website than he had asked me to remove myself from the dating site. He seems to be sweet and a true believer of god.
well I am new to this site and when I was going through the scammers pictures I recognize his picture to be on here. he has sent me several pictures and videos of himself, he told me he was divorced with two kids and his wife agreed to have a baby to another man while he was deployed in afghanastan,
He just recently started talking about taking a leave and he sent me a copy of the leave paper and at first he told me it would cost 350.00 for his leave and then I had asked him who was paying for that, he sent me an email telling me he just wanted me to have a copy of his leave paper.
His name he is going by is Brandt Johnson and his email is [email protected] and if anyone would notice at the bottom of the email it says sent from ANA MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel or it will say sent from S.A MILITARY BASE DOD approve intel now I don't know if this guy is the real guy or not, but I have asked him to Skype or get on viber so we could talk to each other but he told me he cant because of terrorist acts.
I do have his pictures and videos saved though and I am still talking to him, but I need to know if he is a scammer or not.