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

[Bryon Williams]

Should prove he is a romance scammer. Two women on the internet within 15 days.

Ive being talking to Alexander Velasquez. Same phone number and email adress. He never asked for money. Its been 1 month almost.

He has not asked for money yet, because he feels like you are not ready yet. He needs you to be totally into his lies.

Stop all contact with the thief. If you confront him he will continue to lie as all thieves do.

[Fatima79]

Should prove he is a romance scammer. Two women on the internet within 15 days.

Ive being talking to Alexander Velasquez. Same phone number and email adress. He never asked for money. Its been 1 month almost.

He has not asked for money yet, because he feels like you are not ready yet. He needs you to be totally into his lies.

Stop all contact with the thief. If you confront him he will continue to lie as all thieves do.

Is there anything we can do to stop them from harm other people? I am not sure what .

[Bryon Williams]

There is nothing we can do to stop them.

The best we can do is to educate people and post all the scammers details.

If we post his emails, email addresses, phone numbers and stolen pictures. It may help other women avoid the scam if they do a search.

[Suly]

I have met a man by the name of sergeant Ryan Alston on this app named Tango . he has been in Afghanistan for 7 years and won't be coming for another 2 years and wants to marry me and told me that i can request his leave earlier to this email address: [email protected]
Am i being scammed?

[Bryon Williams]

It is 100% a scam.

He is a thief. Everything he has told you is a lie.

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, flights home or medical.

Military provides all meals.

Please stop all contact with the scammer. If you confront him he will continue to lie.

Post his fake name, rank and email address. 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.

[Ice Maiden]

How do I get an image in here?

[Kiki981]

Hi everyone (an in advance sorry for my english, since is not my native language).

I have read some of the posts from users about US ARMY FEE scams.
Just today I found out other user, that is using this popular scam style. Let me tell you a story.
I'm from Slovenia. And to be honest to tell you whole story I must say that I'm gay. And all this thing started in this manner. One day I got message on one gay portal from someone from probably USA. I didn't think much of it that time. So we exchanged e-mail adresses to continue our conversation. So he told me who he was (DAVID STOCK), and that he works in US Army and that he is in Afganistan on mission. Ok, let me belive him. After few mails, i fell in love with him. So I could hardly wait hes next mail. We were talking (writing) to eachother every once a week. I thought this is quite wright since he doesn't have access to internet every day. He told me he was Seargent there and that he want's to meet me, that he is in love with me. Ok, I love him, he loves me, that's nothing wrong. So every time that he wrote me, the mails were romantic (but not sexual). Like how he fell in love with me, that he's always thinking of me...
So last weekend he told me, that he will have vacation, and that he will come to my place to meet me and that he can be with me. Ok, you cant imagine my happines at that moment. So he told me, that he must first go to UK - London to report to his base and arrange all things for vacation. After few days in London, he sent me flight ticket bill (via email). At first everything seemed wright. But day or two later, he started asking me for money, that he needs money to pay fee for his paycheck. The amount of money was bout 950$ (that he needed). And at that moment, I started to suspect, that something was wrong. (Why do you need money, to get money). It's like I would give my boss money to give me salary. But ok. I told him, that I don't haven't got a lot of money since I'm unemployed. Than he started to say, that I should send him all I've got and he will give me back ASAP. And if I want ot meet him, he must first get his paycheck. So story continues, that he started to write me almost every hour, how he realy needs money and that I should send him my money via MoneyGram. He even sent me information of the woman that I should send money to - Somewhere in Texas. And if I realy love him, I will do this for him. So next suspicious thing was, who this woman is. And why to send him money in Texas if he is from Michigan. And he told me, that this si the lady who works in US army and she can arrange that he gets his paycheck. Than this all started to get on my nerves. Nothing adds up. So first thing that i did was to check on internet how getting payed in US army works. And I found out page, where they explain, that US soldiers don't need any fee to pay for their paycheck, and if someone gets this sort of mail, it is scam. Second thing that I found out in same site was that US army doesn't allow that soldiers are sending mail from free mail accounts (like Gmail or Yahoo), and that they have military personal mail wich ends with .MI
So this was second thing that was wrong. After he still asked me for money and that I can send money only via MoneyGram and no other metod, I was so frustrated, that I called airport here in Slovenia, if they can tell me if realy does come flight from London or Amsterdam at that hour as it was witten on Ticket. But she said that on that day there is no such flight coming at that hour from London niether from Amsterdam. So I told him, why is he playing with me. Than he started to act angry that why I don't trust him, that I don't love him...
And later today I checked the ticket bill to see what airport did he play ticket at. And went to their site and checked for the flight that day (same destination), and there is no flight at that hour that day. So I told him, that he needs to stop sending me mails, that he won't get any money from me, so an hour or two ago, he stopped writting me. And I think it's done now. I even told him, that if he doesnt stop, I will contact US military and ask them few things. In One of the last mails, he told me, that he got all the money he needed for paycheck, but few mails later he was asking me for money again. What, he thought that I'm stupid. Hehe.

So that's it. People, don't trust everybody. First you must check their true nature of writing to you. NO matter how many pictures they send you, and how much they write to you that they are in love with you. He sent me his pictures too, on which he was In US army uniform. But If you play with me, you can get burned (or roasted).

So to tell you info about this person:
sgt. DAVE STOCK
mail: [email protected]

AVOID THIS MAIL AT ALL COSTS. If you see this mail, delete it and never answer. He played with my feelings, but he didn't get what he wanted. Whoever he is.

[Acourt1969]

Hi all,
I am currently trying to get the military man I am chatting with to admit that he is a scammer because even though he hasn't pushed the issue with me, he did say that I would have to pay for a leave form clearance so he can fly to meet me and it will cost $850 for what he's calling "admin fees"!
I have called him out and told him that I have military contacts and investigators who help me with anything military because I don't want to be scammed. He swears he's being honest and saying if I loved him, I shouldn't doubt what he tells me. His English is actually pretty good but sometimes he puts stuff in sentences that don't really make sense and he has done some things to prove he is who he says like make a video where he spoke to me, held up a sign saying he loved me and was real to me and have me his M.O.S number BUT there are some things I'm scratching my head on that screams scam!
First of all, within a couple days he said he loved me, his parents were both deceased, he wasn't ever married but a couple pics he sent he had a ring on his finger and he insisted the money was for fees and his commander would get in touch with me once I sent the money through Western Union or MoneyGram. Secondly, he started cursing and getting angry (very English-like lol) once I told him I refused to pay any amounts to the US Military without speaking to an official US department or governing body. He ended up leaving the chat and took down his profile pic and I haven't heard from him since this early a.m.
Anyway here is the information I was able to get from him
Name: Scott Beckham Martin
Fort Leonard Wood Base
He has a profile on facebook under Scott Martin and says he's in Missouri and works as a gym instructor
His birthdate is January 30, 1973
His MOS number is 11 B duper
My concern is that I did image searches, name searches and even called the cell number he provided +234 807 786 6230 and came up with nothing. He has tons of pics and video that he sent me but I am still skeptical that he is a scammer, can anyone help me out? Thanks!!

[Mike Wilson]

Hello Acourt1969,
You are in contact with a Nigerian scammer and the Nigerian telephone number confirms this Leave is an earned benefit and no fees are required.
The best thing to do now is to stop all contact with this lying criminal without telling him anything.

[Acourt1969]

Hello Acourt1969,
You are in contact with a Nigerian scammer and the Nigerian telephone number confirms this Leave is an earned benefit and no fees are required.
The best thing to do now is to stop all contact with this lying criminal without telling him anything.

Hi Mike,
I knew he was a scammer and am so glad that I did stop all contact with him and any numbers that have similar numbers with a +23 code shouldn't ever be added right? Well I'm going to pat myself on the back because I knew it but I needed as much information as possible.
I would just like to know how MOS numbers are verified because I got his but didn't know what to do with it hahaha

[Bryon Williams]

His MOS number is 11 B duper

Mos is nothing more than a job description. Nothing different from telling some one you are an accountant, construction worker, commercial fisherman or etc. None of these jobs gives an individual his own number. This is made up in scammers minds.

Any one in the world can say they have one.

[senorricks1]

Thank you, thank you for this thread!!!! I kept getting suspicious about someone I was messaging, someone that refused to call or talk, and insisted that to meet (per ARMY regulations) we had to do this paperwork. I kept questioning, and he kept getting annoyed. This person was relatively abusive when I questioned, and was almost obsessive about going through the process. The email I received back confirmed my suspicions, and this board also helped me see that I wasn't the only one! I'm going to paste the "relationship registration" email, with the email address. The email address alone was suspicious. The email was improperly written, and very unprofessional for the "Army", so I was glad again to find this site!


Email: [email protected] (usa.com isn't a valid email domain)

Going through a relationship registration is a process which indicates that you and your partner are committed to each other. And as such, this will gurrantee you an access to the officer's property and you will also remain the officer's next of kin. You will be able to request for call permit and and as well request an officer's temporary leave for the benefited officer.

Your Full Name
Home Address
Mobile Number
Maiden Name
Occupation

All the above information will be needed while the officer's basic info as we have it here will be needed as well. The registration fee also will be paid by both party. This must be paid before the commencement of the registration. The registration fee costs $200.00 USD by each partner which will altogether amount to $400.00 USD . The certificate of partner registration will be issued out and a copy will be sent to you as soon as it is done.

Note: the money must be paid within 14 working days. We shall email you the receiver agent's address as soon as you're ready.

Thanks for your anticipated cooperation
Sent From US Military Department of Defense, San Jose, CA
A Copyright 2013 by TS2 SAT Telecoms - Military ISP>
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 for US Army in USA, Afghanistan, Africa and Iraq. All Rights Reserved. 2017.


I am embarrassed to have wasted the time with this person, but I'm so glad I didn't take the next step and I'm glad to have seen this information on this site to help me learn a very valuable lesson!

[meaganlynn]

I have a guy that i have been talking to i met him on meetme. He told me to delete my profile and so i did and now we have been talking on whats app. There has been signs that he is not being honest with me and i feel like i am being scammed by him. He says he is in Nigeria. I did try to ignore him and he had someone claiming to be is commander text me from an actual number. And now he asked me to do his leave for him which i thought was weird. The email he sent me is [email protected]. I emailed it and got a response and they are asking me for 500.00 to be able to get him on leave i have told this guy about it. Is this real or am I getting scammed i would like to know so that way I can cut all ties with him and move on with my life. He has sent me pics and videos of this guy but i dont know if he is for real. I need help putting my mind at ease and just be done with him. Thank you.

[Bryon Williams]

It is a scam. The scammer is playing both roles of a Military member and the fake leave office.

Your scammer is a West African scammer/thief. Scammers/thiefs lie and steal for a living.

He had you delete your profile so no other scammer will steal you away from him.

It is 100% a scam.

He is a thief. Everything he has told you is a lie.

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, flights home or medical.

Military provides all meals.

Please stop all contact with the scammer. If you confront him he will continue to lie.

Post his fake name, rank and email address. 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.

[Bryon Williams]

[email protected]