SCARS™ Special Report: How Social Media Scams Are Affecting The U.S. Military

(Last Updated On: March 25, 2022)

SCARS™ Special Report: How Social Media Scams Are Affecting The U.S. Military

You Have To Be Cautious About Everything You Do Online!

Scammers are always trying to get money, goods or services out of unsuspecting people — and military members are often targets.

 

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Here are some scams that have recently been affecting service members, Defense Department employees and their families.

Romance Scams

In April, Army Criminal Investigation Command put out a warning about romance scams in which online predators go on dating sites claiming to be deployed active-duty soldiers. It’s a problem that’s affecting all branches of service — not just the Army.

U.S. Army CID said “there have been hundreds of claims each month from people who said they’ve been scammed on legitimate dating apps and social media sites. According to the alleged victims, the scammers have asked for money for fake service-related needs such as transportation, communications fees, processing and medical fees — even marriage.”

CID said “many of the victims have lost tens of thousands of dollars and likely won’t get that money back.”

Remember: Service members and government employees DO NOT PAY to go on leave, have their personal effects sent home or fly back to the U.S. from an overseas assignment. Scammers will sometimes provide false paperwork to make their case, but real service members make their own requests for time off. Also, any official military or government emails will end in .mil or .gov — not .com — so be suspicious if you get a message claiming to be from the military or government that doesn’t have one of those addresses.

If you’re worried about being scammed, know what red flags to look for. If you think you’ve been a victim, contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission.

U.S. Department of Defense [DOD] officials said “task forces are working to deal with the growing problem, but the scammers are often from African nations and are using cyber cafes with untraceable email addresses, then routing their accounts across the world to make them incredibly difficult to trace. So be vigilant!”

Sextortion

Sexual extortion — known as “sextortion” — is when a service member is seduced into sexual activities online that are unknowingly recorded and used against them for money or goods. Often, if a victim caves on a demand, the scammer will just likely demand more.

Service members are attractive targets for these scammers for a few reasons:

  • They’re often young men who are away from home and have an online presence.
  • They have a steady income and are often more financially stable than civilians.
  • Because of their careers, they’re held to a higher standard of conduct.
  • Military members have security clearances and know things that might be of interest to adversaries.

To avoid falling victim to sextortion, don’t post or exchange compromising photos or videos with ANYONE online, and make sure your social media privacy settings limit the information outsiders can see — this includes advertising your affiliation with the military or government. Be careful when you’re communicating with anyone you don’t personally know online, and trust your instincts.

IF PEOPLE SEEM SUSPICIOUS, STOP COMMUNICATING WITH THEM. 

DOD officials said  “sextortion often goes unreported because many victims are embarrassed they fell for it. But it happens worldwide and across all ranks and services.”

Here’s what you should do about it if it happens to you:

  • Stop communicating with the scammer.
  • Contact your police and your local CID office if you are in the Army.
  • Do NOT pay the perpetrator.
  • Save all communications you had with that person.
  • Report the scam on www.Anyscam.com or here on this website (see menu).

Service Member Impersonation Scams

Scammers love to impersonate people of authority, and that includes service members.

These people often steal the identity or profile images of a service member and use them to ask for money or make claims that involve the sale of vehicles, house rentals or other big-ticket items.

These scammers often send the victim bogus information about the advertised product and ask for a wire transfer through a third party to finish the purchase, but there’s no product at the end of the transaction.

For years, fake profiles of high-ranking American military officials have been popping up on social media websites using photos and biographical information obtained from the internet.

Scammers often replicate recent social media posts from official DOD or Military Personnel accounts and interact with official accounts to increase the appearance of legitimacy. As an example, there are impersonator accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. These accounts are also interacting with Joint Staff account followers in an effort to gain trust and elicit information.

The only Joint Staff leader with an official social media presence is Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Wayne Troxell, who is listed as @SEAC.JCSon Facebook and @SEAC_Troxell on Twitter.

Scammers are making these profiles in the millions to defraud potential victims.

They claim to be high-ranking or well-placed government/military officials or the surviving spouse of former government leaders, then they promise big profits in exchange for help in moving large sums of money, oil or some other commodity. They offer to transfer significant amounts of money into the victim’s bank account in exchange for a small fee. Scammers that receive payment are never heard from again.

Here are some ways to lower the chances of you being impersonated or duped by a scammer:

  • To avoid having your personal data and photos stolen from your social media pages, limit the details you provide on them and don’t post photos that include your name tag, unit patch and rank.
  • If an alleged official messages you with a request or demand, look closely at their social media page. Often, official accounts will be verified, meaning they have a blue circle with a checkmark right beside their Twitter, Facebook or Instagram name. General and flag officers will not message anyone directly requesting to connect or asking for money.
  • If you are Military or Ex-Military search for yourself online — both your name and images you’ve posted — to see if someone else is trying to use your identity.
  • If you do find a false profile, contact that social media platform and report it and also report it on www.Anyscam.com which lets the world know you have been impersonated.

 

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SCARS the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Incorporated

 

SCARS™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.

 

 

TAGS: SCARS, Important Article, Information About Scams, Anti-Scam, Scams Affect The U.S. Military, Military Scam Victims, Fake Soldiers, Military Impersonation Scams, United States Military

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MORE INFORMATION

More Information From RomanceScamsNow.com


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Tell us about your experiences with Romance Scammers in our
« Scams Discussion Forum on Facebook »


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FAQ: How Do You Properly Report Scammers?

It is essential that law enforcement knows about scams & scammers, even though there is nothing (in most cases) that they can do.

Always report scams involving money lost or where you received money to:

  1. Local Police – ask them to take an “informational” police report – say you need it for your insurance
  2. Your National Police or FBI « www.IC3.gov »
  3. The SCARS|CDN™ Cybercriminal Data Network – Worldwide Reporting Network « HERE » or on « www.Anyscam.com »

This helps your government understand the problem, and allows law enforcement to add scammers on watch lists worldwide.


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Visit our NEW Main SCARS Facebook page for much more information about scams and online crime: « www.facebook.com/SCARS.News.And.Information »

 

To learn more about SCARS visit « www.AgainstScams.org »

Please be sure to report all scammers
« HERE » or on « www.Anyscam.com »

 

SCARS™ Special Report: How Social Media Scams Are Affecting The U.S. Military 1

 

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4 Comments

  1. Dawn Mccarrick August 29, 2019 at 6:02 pm - Reply

    Hi the message should of read I have reported to different websites and agents and had no reply from any of them I have not sent any to you untill today so sorry for the confusion

    • Unfortunately no one has the time or resources to follow up on every scammer reported. The strategy is not to hunt down individual scammers but to work on a larger scale to shut down whole gangs at a time. We are connected to both the EFCC in Nigeria and the Ghana Police Service on a regular basis. You have seen that Nigeria is arresting over 100 per week new and has been consistent all year. Over 4,000 scammers have been arrested this year so far. Ghana is not so good, but they are not yet as well organized as the Nigerians, but they are making progress now that the Trump Administration and Banks are imposing sanctions.

      Every report matters because it fills in needed background information and helps everyone understand how massive the problem is, but real progress has been made in the last two years!

  2. Dawn Mccarrick August 29, 2019 at 5:40 am - Reply

    Wrote a number of letters and had no reply to any been scam by a guy claiming to be a us soldiers in Afghanistan

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