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

[TheScamHater]

Another scammer:

FB page:
(SCAMMER) https://www.facebook.com/maclemoree.judith.5 (SCAMMER)

[email protected]

Maclemoree Judith
Former First sergeant at U.S. Army Fort Campbell
Lives in Tracy, California
Separated
From Tracy, California


Name=John Kennedy
Country=Nigeria
State=Imo State
City=Owerri
Address=130A Wetheral Road Owerri,Imo State
Contact email=[email protected]
Contact Phone=+2348174262374

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA JOINT FORCE WITH NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION KABUL AFGHANISTAN NATO BASE-PEACE KEEPING MISSION.
MILITARY BASE
UNITED STATES MILITARY INTERNATIONAL LEAVE BOARD

Military Airport Embassy KABUL AFGHANISTAN
Attention,
we received your confirmation of home address, occupation and nearby airport for leave permit on behalf of staff sergeant. Maclemoree Judith with ISAF number 141-1208 of the department of army 4th combat aviation brigade base, we have already finish the processing of the leave but However, the leave request will incur some paper work, procurement and Logistic flight fees to hand the staff sergeant a liberty Pass for her to leave the camp and fly out safely to your provided home address.
Below are the charges for paper work and logistics which must be paid before the leave will be finally approved.
Paper Work Fee: $499.5
Flight Logistic fee: $500.25
Procurement Fee: $500.25
Total: $1,500.00
Payments are made to department of leave logistic commander.
Below is the stated payment detail:
Logistic commander
MONEYGRAM/WESTERN UNION:
Name: sherry shopshear
Address: Ypsilanti, Michigan
Country: United States
Send a copy of the payment slip for confirmation and verification.
PAYMENT SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5DAYS.
Thank You.
GEN. A.J MONROE

[TheScamHater]

Another scammer:
[email protected]

[36098501]

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.

I’m also a gay man who has been contacted by Dave Stock ([email protected]). These scammers are easy to spot if you know what to look for. They ask lots of odd questions right away, how long have you been single, what are you looking for in a relationship, what’s the most important thing you look for in a partner. These may not seem like strange questions but in only the second email they are. Also their grammar is quite poor. For someone pretending to be from the central United States they use phrasing that Americans just do not.

The bottom line is: any stranger asking for money on the Internet should be ignored.

[InDoubt]

Do I need to fill in some document for this guy to get his leave processed? This guy I met on a dating app claims to work as a software engineer with the US army on a 1-year contract in Sudan. He suddenly said he wanted to apply leave to come see me, leave is granted but he is giving me the heads up that *some details will be needed from me to fill up the document to be sure he is truly coming to meet me.* Isn't his leave his to plan? He said whom he is going to meet has document to fill too. I am suspicious and uncomfortable. Is this really true? (Haven't seen the form yet)?

[AlanJones]

Please post the name, rank, pictures and email address of the person you are in contact with, along with examples of some of the emails he has sent you.

[InDoubt]

Do I need to fill in some document for this guy to get his leave processed? This guy I met on a dating app claims to work as a software engineer with the US army on a 1-year contract in Sudan. He suddenly said he wanted to apply leave to come see me, leave is granted but he is giving me the heads up that *some details will be needed from me to fill up the document to be sure he is truly coming to meet me.* Isn't his leave his to plan? He said whom he is going to meet has document to fill too.

Update:
I saw the form, all it asked for was for my passport details e.g.. address, passport no. That's it.
No mention of money or payment

I told him I don't want to fill the form, he was hurt but we continued as per norm. He said he understood I was being careful. Now I am confused if he is actually genuine afterall.

[AlanJones]

You came here asking for help, yet you have ignored a request to provide more details so that we can help you. Just because no one has asked you for money doesn't mean it is not a scam and if you give details like passport information to a criminal then you are setting yourself up for identity theft, which could cause you major problems down the line.

If you don't want to post the details that I asked for publicly then you can PM them to me.

[Bryon Williams]

Also he may use you as a money mule.

Receiving money from his other victims and forward that money to him

If that is the case you can be criminally charged with a federal crime of laundering money.

Who knows terrorist origination or just a person sitting in an internet cafe stealing money.

[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, 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/phone numbers. Also post the complete email address of the fake leave office. This will help other women avoid his scam.

It will also be helpful if you post a couple of his initial emails to you and the fake leave office email. Remove your personal information from them prior to submitting.

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.

[AlanJones]

This topic is now locked. If you have questions about a claimed military member that you are in contact with who has asked you to apply for leave for them and want advice then please start a new topic and post their name and rank, email address and any telephone numbers that they have given to you, along with any email address that they have referred you to to request the leave.