New online dating scam to watch out for: Iraq soldier
November 3rd, 2008
This one is new to me, but has apparently been around for a while. A friend of a friend was communicating with someone on a big free dating site who claimed to be a soldier based in Iraq.His profile picture had him wearing a uniform and holding a gun, but he described himself as “shy”. He asked her for a relatively small sum of money (for a scammer) as a deposit for a service that would allow them to speak on the phone. Once paid, he disappeared. Turns out he was doing the rounds on the site, conning lots of women out of cash.
This serves as a good reminder to be careful while dating online. Especially on free dating sites. Never send money to anyone you meet on a dating site!
Here are some more handy online dating safety tips.
I have now started a forum dealing with this topic as well, but I suggest you still read the comments below before posting there. At some point I may close comments on this page. The forum sits at: http://www.onlinedatingbook.co.uk/forum. You can use it to ask about people you think you are scammers or warn others about scammers you’ve come across.
Related posts:
- UK woman loses £10k in online dating scam – Afghanistan soldier
- An important thing to know about online dating soldier scams
- A useful reference guide for common online dating scams
- Military online dating for soldiers and their fans
- Does online dating work?
Entry Filed under: Online Dating Tips
80 Comments Add your own
1. soldier of fortune | November 18th, 2008 at 7:03 am
i guess everyone who let’s themselves to be fooled in this way, deserves what they got. just my 2c.
2. Connie S | December 31st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Im very much aware of these scumbags!!!! There are many of them here on dating websites. That soldier in uniform with a gun on his arms, wearing a commoplage pants, no shirt showing his muscles, yeahhhhh!!!! I heard from him too, and I told him to send me a picture close up on my website. I also told him to give me a number to call him. When I spoke to him he sounded like a Nigerian man, and when I checked the phone number, it was a prepaid phone from Nigeria. Hello out there, Americans are not stupid as you all think we are!!!!!! On my profile, I stated, I prefer to date white men. But when I spoke to this dude, he sounded like a Nigerian with a ver hard accent.
3. Ginty | January 20th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Help…..nearly fell for this and got as far as giving my phone number and address to a company called Ts2 Satellite Provider but somehting made me stop sending the $600 asked for.
Luckily i did a search and found this blog but now worried that i have given personal details….can anyone get back to me about any problems/risks i may now be likely to have
Ta
4. Shimrit | January 20th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Hi Ginty, I’m glad you found this blog on time. Sounds like you have good instincts that stopped you from wasting your money! As long as you only gave them your phone number and address, there’s not much they can do with that, I am not an expert on fraud, but I think they’d need more than that to steal your identity and the scam they’re running seems to be different than that sort of thing anyway. They might try to contact you in another guise (on the phone, for example) to get more details out of you, so just be extra careful for a while about giving out any personal details. If someone phones you and says they are from your bank or credit card company, for example, tell them you will ring them back and phone your company to confirm (get their number from the company’s website, obviously, not the suspected scammer!) I hope that helps.
5. Ginty | January 22nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Hi Shimrit, thank you so much for getting back to me and putting my mind at ease..how glad am I to have found your blog!
Just for your info…the site i was on was single50s and they have removed him for being a scammer. I did express my concerns that they didn’t let members know of this danger apart from a message saying ‘this account deactivated for your protection’ when i tried to go into his message to get details to send to them. Anyway that is the system they work on but will pass on my thoughts!
Once again thank you so much and keep up the good work!!
6. Shimrit | January 23rd, 2009 at 12:21 am
Sites don’t like to admit they have scammers dating there in the first place, because they think it might put people off dating there. The sad fact is, even sites with really good moderating teams will have some scammers slip through the net. I think it’s horrible that some people would try to take advantage of those who are looking for love like that. The only thing you can do is keep your wits about you and just drop anyone who starts trying to fleece you for money after a few weeks, or even months! Good luck and I hope you don’t come across such nasty people again!
7. chris | July 7th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
i can’t understand how people still fall for these scams i run a dating site myunibar.com and i try to remove as many scammers as possible but some webmasters leave them to make their sites look bigger than than they are we all need to pull together and put a stop to these people.
8. Debbie Curtis | August 18th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I was chating to a soldier online who contacted me through Uniform dating and He samed so nice. Talked for hours through Yahoo. Then I asked if I could contact him by phone and he gave me an email address which I sent an email with all my details on and got an email back from TS2 Satalite Provider World Union saying I would have to pay £588.00 to talk to this soldier US one. I didn’t do it and he just took the huff. Called me heartless and that I didn’t care was blaming me for not paying that money. I think I was right not to pay the money wasn’t I? Someone tell me I was right please. He seemed so nice at the start lots of nice things he said to me then he chanced. Totally devistated!!!
9. Shimrit | August 20th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Hi Debbie,
Apparently this is a common scam. The fact that the guy turned on you when you wouldn’t pay is a bad sign. Even if it weren’t a proper scam, the guy’s obviously a loser. You did well not to pay!
10. Diana | October 29th, 2009 at 5:31 am
Met a Sgt. Jeff Miller online and when we chatted online came out asking me to pay $450 to register with the army so that I could talk to him. Then he wanted me to send $1500 so that he could ask for some sort of leave to come to the states for six to seven weeks. Anyone know this Sgt.? I never sent him anything and he swears up and down that he is not a scammer. Any comments?
11. Karen | November 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hi Diana,
I think this may be the same person I was talking to.
He said his name was Sgt. Mark Miller and that he was serving in Samarra,Iraq. Told me his wife died in childbirth 3 yrs ago! He wanted me to pay £225 to register with the army, just like you. I checked out his IP address from his emails, and found out it was actually a man called Enyi Abajue from Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. When I confronted him, he tried to convince me I was wrong, I asked him to send me some more photos of himself but he turned nasty and disappeared! He had been so wonderful to me at first, I’m just so glad I checked his IP!!
12. Suspicious | November 13th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Can someone please explain how to check an IP address & can this address also be fictitious? Thanks
The Soldier from Iraq with Dead Wife, only child and dead parents too – seemed quite sad, but now seems like just a common scam – no money sent, but did ask for it – what a shame!! Seemed so nice too!!
13. Heidi | January 20th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Hi,
There is another scammer out there calling himself SFC Philip Miller. Claims to be an American soldier in Iraq. Was fortuate to smell a rat. When I didnt come up with the money he tried becoming abusive, then dissappeared! His IP address shows him mailing from Ghana.
Heidi
14. Sally-Ann | January 23rd, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I joined friendsreunited dating and a guy called Salvatore Derosa contacted me same jargon, dead wife young son living in the UK for 4 years (perfect english) father in nursing home in sicily. He then tells me he is working in Iraq but things are horrible there he has no money because his account has been hacked and he has lost £25000. He did not ask for money but tells me his son and the nanny are running out of money and that he is worried. I offered to fly the son to my home in Lanzarote and take care of him .. that scuppered him. Then he contacted me again and asked for £20 to be paid into an account in the Ukrain, my suspicions were confirmed and I blocked him, but then I decided tio have a bit of fun and see how far he would take this. Aparently he is now being held by militants and they are demanding money he has no one to help hm and I am heartless for not helping him and he trusted me and loved me and now he was heartbroken by my lack of trust. I took the p155 a bit then told him I was broke and could not pay my mortgage I had no food and electric I didnt know where to turn.. strange how he dissapeared ! I might string him along some more while I check up his IP address but I am not sure how to check it out. his email address is saldr09@live.co.uk at the moment he thinks he has me onside again … oops silly man .. but what a shame I wonder who the man in his photos is he is a real hunk lol
15. Austriaone | January 28th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
well i met a guy on a dating site as well. he said he is a soldier in iraq. We connected easily and got along very well. then he told me that he would be finished with his contract with the army soon so he wants to start a new life. i liked him from the beginning. then he called me – and i was sooo disappointed or shocked cause he didnt sound american AT ALL more like african or asian. i told him that i am really doubting his story and dont believe this cause his accent is not american at all – he is probably one of them trying to get money out of women…. anyways after that conversation he sent me about 20 pictures of this soldier named JOHN TODD inclusive the picture of his passport card. anyways i felt that i did him wrong and apologized and actually fell in love with him. He was supposed to come here today since he finished his contract by yesterday. this morning i got a call from a woman . she said she is from the customs in kuala lumpur (malaysia) and that mr. todd is being held there cause he is having a huge amount of money with him, which he did not declare. anyways he needs to be bailed out with 4.950 USD and i should send it through western union. i said nooo way – then she said i could also transfer it through my bank – she sent me an email with her account datas and asked me to send the payslip. i did not and i will not – but i think that this is too bad. i called the malaysian embassy – and they told me that i should not send any money – cause thats not the way that cases are handled. but thats really too bad…. but i realized that i should listen to my feelings cause they told me from the beginning that he is not what he is pretending to be….
16. sharon | February 2nd, 2010 at 11:12 pm
with reference to usa soldier scam. Has anyone had contact from one calling himself Capt Chris Johnson, living in the uk, everything ive read here sounds so familiar. widower, wife died in childbirth etc etc But I was wise enough not to be taken in by it.
17. Miki | February 19th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Has anyone had a Phil Adams. Claims to be in the military. Needs a laptop with a webcam so he can communicate with me; however he is able to spend hours online chatting with me. Didn’t send the laptop as I was suspecious. Tells me he loves me constantly. I plan on playing along only to see what his next requests will be. I hate jerks like this.
18. michaela | February 22nd, 2010 at 6:48 am
hello i have been talking to someone in the us army and i need to know how i know if its really him?
19. Lorna Danylchuk | February 23rd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
OMG, do I ever feel stupid! Salvatore Derosa and I were online for over 2 weeks, mostly same stories as above. But never once was I asked for money, he just went away.
Oh that is so sad, he was so attentive in his emails and IM’s
20. Lorna Danylchuk | February 23rd, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Anyone got some ideas on how we can put a stop to this. I have been blogging for the past 2 months about online dating and I believe I will be moving a bit in another direction on my blog for awhile in hopes that these people are exposed.
21. Lorna Danylchuk | February 24th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Is there anyway to get ahold of Sally Ann #14 post here. We have the exact same story exempt my guy was living in Canada, but in Iraq blah de blah our online started the 28th of Jan 2010. I wonder if Sally Ann kept her emails, I did and I am posting them on my blog to warn others, it only means he will change his story but it is a start.
22. Sue | March 5th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Trying to figure something out. I’ve been talking to a guy for a few months and he’s now supposedly shipping out to baghdad. We’ve talked every day via yahoo messenger, and he’s told me he’s applied for the TS2 phone but I would have to make a payment of $500US to activate it. Said he was taking the rest from his monthly allowances. I need to know asap if this is for real. Is there some way of me finding out if he’s for real or not?
23. Shimrit | March 7th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Sue, I’m sorry to tell you this, but this sounds like a classic scam, so chances are this guy is trying to con you. Your best bet is to contact the site you met him on, tell them this and ask for advice. If his account is still on the dating site, the moderators should be able to tell whether he fits the pattern of a known scammer. They may not admit to this being the case, though. Which site are you on?
24. Sally-Ann | March 9th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Hi Lorna I do have his emails and photis if you want them. He also gave me a UK mobile number which went straight to answer phone when I tried it but I dont have the number anymore.
He told me he had a father in a nursing home and his in laws lived in New Zealand. He did not ask for money from me first time either and regularly dissapeared and then came back so he is likely to turn up again. What alerted me was the bank account details were in Poland the first time he only asked for £200 and the second time he got greedier asking for £1000. Friends reunited have blocked his profile so he can see himself but he cannot contact members or be seen by members. If you want me to send the emails and photos let me know.
25. Anna | March 11th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Hi
Oh dear:( the last couple of weeks i have befriended a soldier on active duty in Afghan on friends reunited dating he has professed his undying love for me is ready to rtire in 9 months has a home in England told me his son is 15yrsold and his wife died in childbirth,he loves me and wants to start a new life with me. he says he has invested for his retiement in shipping latex?
all of a sudden he has told me his son accidently blocked his credit card and has no money for bills ect can i help him with money for him till he gets back and sorts it out then he asked for bank details and wants the shipping money paid into it cause his card is blocked its due to be paid the end of wee and any money he borrows will be paid back. i am shocked and very worried i was starting to fall for him he has photos and yahoo mail and mobile phone which he text me but he cant ring me for security reasons and cant use webcam cause of security1 i think now he is trying to scam me
please can anyone help?
26. Anna | March 11th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
also he told me his son is in califonia with his aged aunt who he takes care of and pays billall my instincts are telling me NO! but he really has played on my heart strings!
(
but i have no intention of sending any money or giving out my bank details
the more i read what is written here the more i realise its over!
27. Linda | March 13th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Hi ladies, I dont think we should use this place to settle personal scores. I think Sally-Ann and Lorna Danylchuk. I think what they wrote is too personal, I know Salvatore is not a scammer. I have met him personally before he left for Iraq and i think he’s a great guy just that I wasnt ready for a serious relationship which he seems to want. You guys should stop portraying him in a bad light. Im very sure he’s not gonna like this if he sees this.
28. Mary lou | March 18th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I just recently was involved with a poor lonely US soldier based in Bahghdad. His name was Ryan Michael Davud Chalse, from Maryland he said. The first week he told me everything that I wanted to hear. The second week, he started hinting around about me helping him come home to meet me. He said his money was all tied up stateside and couldn’t get access to it. Then he wanted to hear my sweet voice, and that I should buy the ts2 phone for maybe 4-500.00USD. I told him I couldn;t afford it. We had a few disagreements about it. He did send me the email address to apply for it in case I changed my mind gopeacekeeping.com it sounded pretty legitimate to me. They sent me a form via email, and after searching around online I soon found out it was a scam. There is also a major Franklin involved to. Anyway, my guy soon disappeared. Sad thing of it, I was beginning to really like him.
Live & learn ladies. Be careful there are a lot of predators out there.
PS: He has such bad spelling and grammar, it was terrible. And he claimed to be an engieer.
29. Ruth | March 20th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Wow, now the scammers are logging into sites to promote themselves. Linda is obviously one of those who has used this scam in the past.
My friend was used also by the same group a few years ago. It broke her heart and hurt her deeply. Luckily we kept her from sending any money to the scammers.
30. Sue Saunders | April 5th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I have recently had a scam played on me, beware if anyone by the names of James Ruddock Staff sg in the us army based in Iraq contact you on a dating site, stay well away. He is very clever, had all basis covered. I was groomed for 2 months until he showed himself for what he was. He told me that he loved me even proposed the day before he pounced with the scam. They are not in a hurry in fact the longer the scam goes on the more emotionally attached you become. Don’t worry he never got a penny, but it was very emotionally draining Be careful ladies.
31. Carey Hollingsworth | April 11th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Sue
I’m currently talking to a guy called James Ruddock and he seemed quite believable like you said but when I asked to see a picture of him in uniform the picture was clearly taken years after the ones he sent with his kids so I got suspicious and checked his IP address and most of his emails came from the US but the photo and a couple of other emails came from Ghana. He hasn’t asked me for anything yet apart from wanting to marry me – has bought a house in the UK apparently in Oxfordshire – I’m so glad I found this site and your mail. I’ve been talking to him for nearly 3 months now and he found me on Dateline so beware of JAMES RUDDOCK.
32. Mel | April 23rd, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Sergeant Fred Kells. USA
AKA “armybabyboy” on OKcupid dating site. Is a scam. Widower with twins, in Afghanistan. Yeah right. Nigerian. Please be careful.
33. Antonia | April 24th, 2010 at 3:12 am
I too was involved with SDeR I have notified the dating site I was on here in the US and made a report to the Yahoo abuse site since that’s his email server. My discoveries were so disheartening! You have no idea how I wish he were real-but all of the inapplicable things he wrote me made me curious.
First I teased him about how he must read Cosmo because of a list titled “Things to do with you” that was definitely intended for a female to do to/with her mate. Then I just Googled a few lines from one of his e-mails because I thought they were song lyrics and was dumped into a list of long distance relationship love letter sites. The most interesting one came when I Googled some other lines and was dumped into a Nigerian scam warning site.
Our communications were wonderful and made me hopeful but in the back of my mind I was a little worried. I am someone who trusts people until they give me a reason not to, so I chalked the plagiarism up to him being a “born & bred Sicilian” and wanting to impress me with eloquent love notes.
The biggest flag came when HE came to me regarding communicating via satellite/cell phone. The irony is that I initially pushed him – suggesting Skype, intl phone cards, etc. But he said there was no way that those mediums would provide secure lines. (His story to me was that he is a private contractor for mobile network synthesis and analysis working in Iraq as part of the reconstruction of the country and would be there for 2 months. We “met” online in early March).
So approximately 1 month into our chatting he comes to me with the secure line plan – for $350 that I would have to pay because he can’t access his funds back here in NJ. The funds would need to be sent to a 3rd party in the Ukraine and the addressee is a masculine Nigerian name! RED FLAG A WAVING!!!! I tell him I’m pretty poor right now and his tone changes drastically. He kept saying that I didn’t trust him or believe him and that I certainly wasn’t committed to him and a relationship with him. He gave me the cold shoulder for awhile and then I sent him an e-mail to let him know my circumstances and I received no understanding what so ever just more guilt.
Then I saw he posted his profile back up on the dating site – in the very beginning he asked me to remove mine and he did the same. That was a good move because I know I would have asked him that and the fact that he asked first – let’s just say the word “swoon” is not out of style.
I called him on the fact that he was on the market again and he said that was all my fault because I didn’t want us badly enough. I was at this point in time I think that I Googled his name and email address that’s when I found a real SDeR in NYC Telecommunications firm, I called them and sent the pics he gave me – he’s not that SDeR. Then I was dumped into a blog of Lorna D. who is documenting her online dating experiences and there his name appeared! Not only his name but some of the same things he wrote to me! His location was different but his back story the same. Along with that blog was this site. When I read the stories on here I was so sad! I did want it all to be a bad coincidence but since it definitely wasn’t I wanted to share my story and warning with your readers. So now here I am posting my story on your site.
Yesterday I had another epiphany due to what a woman from your site wrote – she had his IP address but didn’t know what to do with it! He had told me that we had a 7 hour time difference (Basra, Iraq does have a 7hr time diff) and then I noticed that the times on my e-mails sent to him were not always a 7hr difference. I have a really close friends network admin talent. So I sent him a header from one of the e-mails I received – he extracted the IP address and said it’s location is the Ukraine!!!
Thankfully I didn’t send any money to this person or persons and most of the women I read about hadn’t either. But what about those that aren’t warned? What about the possibility that this is not the only persona being used to scam women and men?
So far I’ve found 3 different profiles on the same dating date that are all “my guy” SDeR – 2 NJ locations and 1 Canada – thanks to Lorna
I just wanted to do some little part in preventing more hurt, disappointment and financial woes.
34. Keith | April 28th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hi everyone,
You have all been talking about male soldiers from Iraq well there is also the female version too, I have been talking to a Lieutenant Marilyn Boone for the last 6 weeks and just recently she had asked me to send an Email to a supposedly army wirelsess site that would set up “free” call connections between us…….What a suprose when the return email from the phone company states that for the free calls to be set a fee of £255 must be paid!!!!
I for one will not be paying such money and I will be passing on all relevant information to plentyoffish.com so hope fully scammers like these can be removed….Also I will be playing along with this Lieutenant just to see how far she goes or if her attitude changes when i tell her I am not paying the connection charges
35. Chris | May 6th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Heidi,
I to have been talking to Sgt Phil Miller for around 5 weeks, he has now asked me to meet hi friend so he can give me $550,000 for our future together. Luckily I was suspicious and haven’t goven my address, just a phone number which is easlily changed. Shame as his pictures were to die for, seend a genuine guy, young son to bring up as his wife died n a car accident and he was retiring soon from the army!.
36. Chris | May 7th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Me again! Can’t believe Sgt Phil Miller has been silly enough to re-register on the same dating site as Aaron a single guy looking for love AND Jeffrey a divorcee with 1 child. He uses the same photo’s. Shame the army can’t trace the solidier in the photo’s and let him know his ID is being used. Shame for him as he’s a good looking guy that has no idea he is being used. The dating site has been advised but obviously they aren’t interested. ‘Sgt Miller’ asked for money to be sent to his friend and when I refused he got abusive. Be careful ladies
37. veronica.hartley | May 8th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
anyone heard of a General Kelvin James – Based in Iraq
38. Jessica | May 22nd, 2010 at 4:07 am
Hi Chris I too met Sgt Philip Miller what a tosser it is sad he has stolen someone’s idenity. I must have been special Chris he was going to send me a million dollars from some oil deal he was in the process of doing i played along for a while i knew he was full of shit. I also contacted the federal police. so i hope the idiot does get caught.
39. Amy | May 23rd, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Hi All,
I almost fell for one guy who claimed he was a pilot in the navy, until I fathomed out he couldnt string a sentence together and appeared very aloof when responding to my emails, he would not answer any questions directly either, and so I copied and pasted the cridentials needed to become a navy pilot, i.e. good English language skills, I never heard from him again haha. Also I had never come across so so many soldiers who were ‘widowed’ lol, one guy even said to me ‘I hope I am not upsetting your boyfriend by messaging you’ what the ????
40. Dianne Carter | May 26th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
hi
has anyone, had contact from a sgt john mateo, American Army. He has been asking for cash, first for his daughters hospital bills, then for me to pay for his leave, to come and visit me £1400… i have no experiance with the military…. do you have to pay for them to go on leave? by the way i have no intension of parting with my very hard earned cash…
41. Antonia | May 28th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Just come to New York! It’s Fleet Week! Lots of enlisted men here!And I bet they do not want your money!
42. barbara | May 29th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
hi
has anyone been contacted by a col joe monroy. says he is in the us army in iraq camp victory. After 2 days chatting he says he loves u and wants to marry u sends pics of him and his so called daughter, tells u all the time how much he loves u and i have played him knowing it was a scam not sure then what he was afterbut i do now says he needs to hear my voice he has given me 2 email addys to contact about free phone calls to him with a connection fee. they are tsatts2satt@mail2army.com and ts2agent@usa.com not sure how much longer i can fob him off but i will make him work and groval, going to report him to chat site now. pity the guy in the pics is really cute. i know he is mailing others cause i have watched what he does on chat site tells you what he is doing ie sending mail, writing mail, do they think us single older women are stupid.
43. Jan | June 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 am
Hi I am currently chatting to Serg Phil Miller. The stakes must have gone up because I was offered 1.5 million. When questioned about communications we had had, I have had from his MSN two different people writing. One quite literate and the other not so. Maybe this guy has had his ID taken, surely he wouldn’t be that stupid, but then again he is male or is he??
44. Kath | June 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Hi all, same here with a guy named Srgt Victor Haggard. With pictures, dead parents, divorced and having an adopted son in Ghana who needs $960 for his last exams!!! Wise enough not to give the scamer any details about myself but I still got involved emotionally :O). Good lord a friend of mine found this blog. For a couple of minute I felt terrible when I found out how he or maybe even she has got me but now I am having a good laugh. I wonder if there is any way to catch these guys. After all they are using stolen pictures of american soldiers.
45. Kim | June 11th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Been talking to a guy Sgt Tony Martel american soldier in iraq, widower, young son, only child etc etc asked for money for phone subscription. Was not gullible enough to fall for this, met on a dating site but they have now deleted his profile.
46. stacey | June 13th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Anyone heard of Sergeant Major David Ryan Pedersen or Pendersen from match .com ?? Thinking this is a scam too
47. stacey | June 13th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Anyone heard of Sergeant Major David Ryan Pedersen or Pendersen from match .com ?? Thinking this is a scam too
gave me ts2telecommincation@engineer.com
48. stacey | June 13th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I think Barbara and I have the same man chatting !
49. Billie | June 15th, 2010 at 2:11 am
I was contacted on match.com by a person claiming to be a General Kelvin James in Afghanistan but his emails did not convince me that he was a powerful man and after 3 or so he has sent me 5 attachments which I have not opened. On the site he used gray_888 He claimed to be a widow with a 15 yr old son and onced connected to msn had a pic in full uniform and one in civis. Happily at no stage did I give my real name etc. Billie is a non de plume
BEWARE!
50. Dawn | June 16th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Hi,
I have been talking to a man named Michael Swain (Mitch). He says he is in Iran working for the American Army. He has asked me for money to pay for the satellite phone. I think he is in on this scam.
What sad people fill this world.
51. Dawn | June 16th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Sorry, my last post should have read Iraq. Since I have placed this post I have checked the ID of other soldiers who have contacted me and it would seem they are all the same person as their intro is exactly the same. I have informed the dating site and hope they delete them. They are currently scamming women on the site ‘Girls Date For Free’.
52. barbara ortiz | June 18th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
i met sgtmaj david pedersenor pendersen from match.com we spoke for 5 days said he has 1 daughter wife died.daughter in uk with nanny. he said he will retire in 8 months but wants to come to the states to meet me but i would have to pay but the money would be refunded after we had words about the money issue we did not talk any longer. but i gave no pers. info and did not send any mony
53. Heather | June 29th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I have a friend who has been chatting on line with a Sargent Harris Smith, serving in Afghanastan, for about a year. He even came to visit her around Christmas. Then he somehow made her his benaficery (sp?). He applied for a three month leave and was about to come visit her, but the day before he was supposed to leave afghanastan he was shot and she was notified through email that he was in a comma and then the next day she was told he had several heart attacks through to night and died. Now they have told her they are requesting photos of the funeral for her if she would like them. Then they told her because he had been stationed in afghanastan his benefits are somehow stuck there and she would need to pay some money to get the money transfered to the states. She told me that he had never married, never had any children, he had been engaged years ago but a week before his wedding his fiancée was hit and killed by a drunk driver, his mom died when he was 5, his dad never remarried or had any other children. He also would mention how his command officers knew about my friend and how much he loved her, etc, etc… His emails read like a romance novel. Has anyone ever been scammed where they actually met the person in the pictures??? My poor friend is distraught and mourning his death, but the more I hear the more I’m convinced it is an elaborate scam…
54. cheryl | June 30th, 2010 at 5:14 am
Oh my gosh I can’t believe I fell into this site,anybody being scammed by good-looking so called Captain Martin Engle, met him on cupid. Have been contacted by 10-15 soldiers saying they are all widowed..He asked me for 2,700 dollars, then when I said wanted to talk to him didn’t believe him, gave me the ts2.militarysecurecalls@usa.com. Sounds legit, thank god for google.com..Let’s stop these scammers!!!
55. Patricia | June 30th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Reply to Barbara 29 May 2010
I have been chatting with Colonel Joe Monroy for a few days now. I have received from him a email with his relevant work history and supposed photos of him and his daughter and him in uniform etc…Have also received a poem professing his love for me.
As yet have not been asked to pay any money to anything but did say would like a digital camera so he could take photo’s of his room, the base, his office so he can show them to me.
I said unusual that you don’t have one. He said he left his with his daughter Jessi in the USA who is being cared for by his momma. I asked for the address so I could post a parcel to him from the UK but he said it has to go through the USA for security reasons. waiting on the address. To be continued……………
56. TRACEY | July 1st, 2010 at 7:23 pm
miller jeffrey sean miller scammer all over face book and yahoo and a MARK VASS MARK4ABEY@YAHOO.COM ALL SCAMMRS
AND A DEBBY HALL DEBBY NIGHT
57. Jennifer | July 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
In respons to post 37 and 49. General Kelvin James is a big fraud!!! My mom was all happy meeting this guy online and told me about him. I googled around a bit and found this site (thank god!) Needless to say telling my mom this news wasn’t fun at all!!!
She confronted him with post 49 and his respons was all wrong. He became very upset that she mistrusted him instead of being outraged that someone else was/is using his name.
So thank you for starting this blog, it saved my mom from being hurt.
Sincerely Jennifer
58. Lakshmi | July 9th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
This scam begun with Free Communication Weekends @ Web Dating Sites. Be careful!
This particular guy called himself Sgt James Nicolas Davis Monroy. In Iraq, has daughter and mom in the UK. Send pics of himself and daughter and friends!
Love Poems, fast asking to connect, same email address as above-other posts. Ask for $ to connect, inmediately ask for money to go on Leave, have forms with the Seal of the Dept. of Defense on it. It all seems real, except for the details.
As soon as you catch on he dissappears!
59. Yasmine | July 11th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Pls email me whoever scammed by sergant Harris smith in afganistan who writes romantic letters never been married mom left at age of five wants u to be his beneficiary . Please I need to talk to you. Thanks
60. yasmine | July 11th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
So i got scammed by Sgt HARRIS SMITH from Canyon, TX lost his mom at age of 5, who is supposedly in Afghanistan. Please help me how do i get my money back. where can i go and what can i do.. i feel like a total idiot. my email. yaseminlee@yahoo.com also how do i look up an ip number that everybody’s talking about. plesae help thank you
61. Leigh | July 12th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I have read this site with great interest. Anyone heard of Staff Sgt Mattew Woods ?. He asked me for $350 a couple of months ago for his “sons exmas” as he cannot access his account in Iraq, I said a firm no and ot was not mentioned again until now. I am a mean, tight, selfich woman and how can I sit here in my home and see his son suffer so badly” his son lives in Ghana. I knew it was a scam from the minute he asked for money and pledged undying love, so I have waited for the next request. Its easy to gt sucked in I saw it for what it was and I have reported him to the site I met him on.
62. diantha | July 12th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Well, Sgt Mark Miller US Armmy does seem to get around . I too have been chatting with him. He “fell” in love in like 5 days.I sent the letters to my brother and my best friend who found out he is in fact a fraud. what a shame the pic of the soldier is so handsome! I hope they catch him before I do!
63. gina | July 16th, 2010 at 1:47 am
A supposed Colonel Pedersen, Kelvin from Baghdad, Iraq is requesting money for phone transmissions to be protected from the rebels of Aphganistan to create a switch release from a satalite just to call me and here my voice, first requested 210.00 to be sent to a militarytelecom@engineers.com, this is not a military sight, please be for warned and the money is to be wired via a western union to a Misty Rowe in Colon, Colorado hmm….lovely writer and say’s all the things you want to here.
64. joan meredith | July 17th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Ha, I knew it was too good to be true, what a lying cheating rat bag. Col. Kelvin James, Widow, 1 son aged 15 in the states. How stupid am I?? Thank god alarm bells were sounding and I looked this site up. He has asked for nothing yet, just seems a nice loney guy. I’m in the UK by the way, ladies beware, he seemed too good, what a shame. Take care ladies, what a pig!!
65. Katlynn | July 18th, 2010 at 7:16 am
I was on Match.com and contacted by someone saying they were in Fort Worth TX. We chatted and when he called me his accent was so strong that I became alarmed. He emailed me that he was from Spain and his parents were missionaries in Sri Lonka, he was an only child and his parents were decd. He said he is serving in the US Military in Iraq and is about to retire soon. We have been chatting on line for several weeks and he claimed a birthday. When I asked him if I could send him something (I am thinking cookies, etc) he said laptop and unlocked cell phone. He claims that the laptop is his only communication to the outside world and his diplomat. He wants these things sent through his diplomat to him:
Mr Frank Damesi
P.O Box MD 89
Madina-Accra
Ghana,00233
He is claiming a name of Richard Burks. I Googled to see if he owned a house in Fort Worth and could not find him. I am not sure if this is a scam or not but has anyone else heard of these names, etc? I am going to ask him for his address in Fort Worth and see what he says. He is claiming an extreme interest in me.
66. Shimrit | July 18th, 2010 at 9:22 am
I’ve now started a forum as well so you can discuss scammers more easily. If you want to carry on this discussion you can head over to http://www.onlinedatingbook.co.uk/forum where you can sign up and then post new topics and send each other private messages. At some point I will close comments on this post, as I think it’s getting a bit too long.
67. Debbie | July 18th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
So many of these comments refer to the same guy that I have been talking with at from Match.com He’s military Army stationed in Iraq E8 Mom died when he was 17, dad died when he was 21, no siblings, and wife of 17yrs died in car accident with unborn child lonely for 6yrs now wanted me to send stuff to him thru diplomat in UK no APO due to retirement. Pics show a soldier with E5 rank not E8 rank, spelling and grammar is bad at times tells me soldiers are missing there on a daily basis and their family doesnt know scared and needs to leave needs 4000us dollars to pay to get paperwork cell phones not allowed there Bad thing is I saw the flags from the beginning but knew it was really a scam when he asked for money. I even warned this guy that I knew military rank very well, military pay, and was familar with it all. He wanted to make me his wife and come home to me. Also talked about a contract in Africa. I was never gonna send him anything, he didnt even believe me when I told him I had no money, he pushed hard for it. He also asked me to send him personal jewelery of mine and a laptop. His name is Ryan Juan Rivera from Baltimore, MD he claimed he was 49 and Native American. In our conversations he is 48 and a Latino, from Spain. He doesnt really ask much about your life………..I fell emotionally for this guy, but not stupid enough to send him anything. His match.com name LetsDo_ItTogether and his yahoo is rryan_1961@yahoo.com He also deleted his acct with Match.com the day that we started to talk.
68. carole | July 21st, 2010 at 2:59 pm
I have talked to two different men. One is a col. david pederson he is a fake( i have met the real one) the other is col. Kelvin pederson, and I am sure he is one in the same man. He is asking for a processing fee for his leave. I have checked into this with the army, and no fee is required for a leave request form. any way, I reafused and was called every thing but a white woman.
69. Louise | July 26th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Hi, i have been chatting to a man called stratton enoch and he asked me if i can be his beneficiary and pay about £1500 to apply for his leave and apparantly this will be paid back to me 5 days when he arrives? I take it im being scammed am i?
70. Shimrit | July 28th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Louise: I’m sorry, but it does sound like a common scam. The fact that alarm bells went off in your head and you decided to look into it should also tell you something. I’d say stay away from this man.
71. TRACEY | July 31st, 2010 at 7:52 pm
yes there is a scammer
lt2 jeffreymiller@att.net
lt2jefferymiller@hotmial
lt2jeffreymiller@YAHOO.co.uk
and the same sammers is sgtmiller@rocketmail
also gose bye james miller
jeffrey sean miller . all on fb and myspace and thy know but still thy dont take them of the site,s there shit peaple .
miller as a website to scam shares also . look out dont give them monney
traceyshea64@yahoo.co.uk and he is in ir\aq and then in affgan . lol
72. TRACEY | July 31st, 2010 at 7:56 pm
scammers on unifrom dating site . alot off army scammers .
73. Sue | August 10th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
and yet another one…found on Smooch.com
Garry Johnson, same scenario, yes I was gullible, sent the initial emails, as soon as I saw Westermn Union I ran a mile….
Reported to Smooch for what its worth.
74. Amy | August 14th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
There is no such thing as a vocational leave form. I had the military checked on it. Don’t think those soldiers has it bad at Camp Victory in Iraq because they don’t. At Camp Victory they have a hugh swimming pool and beauty parlors there. I checked it out. It’s the poor soldiers outside of Iraq has it rough. There is no such thing as a paid leave. They cann’t request to leave earily, when they do it’s only for an emerency as a death. T2s if you have the money you can go to your own phone company and have it on your own phone dont belive it. They have unit phones there at their base. They get calling cards or uses the computer.I hope I helped. How do I know one tried to scam me.Thanks
75. Carol | August 14th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
Don’t belive it when they say they love you after three emails it’s a scam. Even if they send you anything in the mail. It’s just a cover up to get you to belive in them. Watch out for any dating sites. Take any paper work to the military office near you if your not sure. If they ask you for money say goodby. It’s a scam when you don’t know them. It’s to bad that some of these soldiers are that way. What can you do. Just be carefull.
76. Shelly | August 14th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
I just wanted everyone to know there is no such thing as a vocational leave form. It’s a scam don’t belive it. Over in Iraq Camp Victory has a lot, there’s a huge swimming pool, where some play volley ball, beauty salon, movies, pizza and other things. I checked it out. A soldier cann’t leave early unless its a death in the family only. There is no such thing as a paid leave. It won’t happen. T2s is a sat. phone. If you have the money then you can call your phone company to put it on your phone not theirs. I checked it out. They have calling cards to use their unit phones on base. Also, computers that doesn’t cost anything. They just want easy money. It’s to bad for the other soldiers who are honest. The other soldiers in Iraq outside of Camp Victory has it hard. Camp Victory for those that are there is easy. I checked it out. Soldiers there can have wifes and a girlfriend or vise a versa. You can check out the web site Life at Camp Victory, so it’s a scam. Don’t give out your credit card number or bank number. How do I know an Iraq soldier tried to scam me, but it didn’t work. It’s true if they say they love you after three emails run away it’s a scam. How can you love someone without meeting them? A lot of soldiers are leaving Iraq Sometime at the end of this month or next. So don’t belive them unless you know them. It’s a scam.Listening to your gut feelings or check it out withe military before you do anything. I hope this helped Thanks
77. Lizzydripping | August 15th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Does anyone know how I can check with the military if a british soldier is Kosher or if he doesnt exist and im being scammed?
Thanks in advance
78. Julie | August 23rd, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I was contacted by SGT CARLOS AMANDO through dating for parents, he sent me six messages and photo’s said his parents were dead, had a daughter who is nearly seventeen, who lives with her tutor who is her guardian and his wife died too. I got suspicious when he asked for my mobile number to contact me in the day (he’s in Afghanistan) on patrol. I put his name on google and found this website, I sent him a message on msn asking him if he had access to a web cam and haven’t heard from him since.
79. Jen | August 25th, 2010 at 11:00 pm
im so glad i found this. im just starting to get back into the dating scene after my fiance who i had been with for 4yrs cheated on me. i posted a profile on one of those free dating sites. i wasnt expecting much so when i got a message from a cute guy in the army i was a little excited. he turned out to be a scammer. it reallt pisses me off that jerks are using out soldiers and struggle they go thru to cheat ppl and get money. its sick. it bothers me even more that they use pictures of our soldiers and steal their identity. i wish there was more to be done to stop these guys from taking advantage of ppl. im so glad i found this site. i learned so much about the ts2 phone scam and im glad the names these jerks were posted. i regret not savin the name the guy used or his email address, if i had it id post it. thanks for havin this info available
80. Shimrit | August 25th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Thanks Jen! And thanks for sharing your info with us as well. I’m sorry your ex cheated on you, but don’t worry, there are nice guys out there too. It sounds like you’re learning to spot and avoid the losers, so I’m sure you’ll find the good one soon ehough
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