Tips for Identifying Military Scammers Online
Unfortunately, scammers often pretend to be members of the military to exploit people’s trust and generosity. Here are some key signs and tips to help you avoid falling victim to a military romance scam:
1. They Ask for Money or Gift Cards
Real military personnel never need civilians to send them money, gift cards, or financial assistance. The military covers all essentials, including medical expenses, travel, and communications. At times, they may not ask for money directly. A common example might be them saying they want to send you a package and then it gets stuck in customs or something similar. They then need you to pay to get it out of customs, and then they get money from you in that way.
2. They Claim They Can’t Video Chat
Scammers often say they’re unable to video chat due to being in a remote location, security restrictions, or faulty equipment. Legitimate military members usually have ways to communicate via video, even when deployed. Sure, the internet might not be great when deployed, but there are ways to still video chat.
3. Suspicious or Dramatic Stories
Be cautious of stories involving sudden emergencies, requests for money for leave or flights home, or needing funds to ship items. These situations are common scams and not how the military operates. You do not have to pay a fee to go on leave in the military. A servicemember does have to pay for normal travel expenses like you, but there is no fee to take leave from the military, and they do not need you to request their vacation. There is also no fee that you have to pay the military so that you can get married.
4. Poor Grammar and Spelling
While not definitive proof, scammers frequently have inconsistent stories and messages filled with grammatical errors and misspellings. This can indicate they are not who they claim to be.
5. Wrong rank, uniform, and more
These scammers will often get things wrong. It can be something like they tell you they are a captain in the Army, but in the photos, they are wearing sergeant rank. They send you pictures of themselves in uniform, but the uniform they are in is no longer used. These scammers steal images of real soldiers from Facebook and other social media sites. It will not do any good to try and track down the actual owner of the photos as there is not much they can even do to stop them from stealing their photos.
6. They Quickly Profess Love
Scammers often rush into declaring deep emotions or love to manipulate your feelings quickly. Take your time to truly understand who you’re speaking with.
What to Do if You Suspect a Scam
- Stop all communication immediately.
- Never send money, gift cards, or personal information.
- Talk to someone you trust about your concerns.
- If you can’t meet this individual in person or at least have a real conversation with them over video chat, there is a high risk of being scammed or “catfished.”
Stay safe and vigilant. Your awareness is your best protection against scammers.
WATCH THESE VIDEOS
I have some videos on YouTube about online military scammers that you can watch.
