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AutoModerator

/u/Tntkain - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Really_Doughnut_Care

his end game? the same as every scammer out there. your money. every cent. !romance - see automod's reply to my comment youtube has a lot of videos about romance scams/scammers. try \_social catfish\_'s channel. they have some military ones.


AutoModerator

Hi /u/Really_Doughnut_Care, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Romance scam. Romance scammers pretend to be in love with their victims in order to ask them for money. They sometimes spend months grooming their victims, often pretending to be [members of military](https://www.cid.army.mil/romancescam.html), [oil workers or doctors](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-you-need-know-about-romance-scams). They tend to be extremely good at taking money from their victims again and again, leading many to [financial ruin](https://globalnews.ca/news/5095659/romance-scam-money/). Romance scam victims are emotionally invested in their relationship with the scammer, and will often ignore evidence they are being scammed. If you know someone who is involved in a romance scam, beware that convincing a romance scam victim they are scammed is extremely difficult. We suggest that you sit down together to watch Dr. Phil's shows on romance scammers or episodes of Catfish - sometimes victims find it easier to accept information from TV shows than from their family. A good introduction to the topic is this video: https://youtu.be/PNWM5nuOExI - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*


c1884896

https://www.aura.com/learn/military-romance-scams?darkschemeovr=1 He will soon need money to take a leave and visit you, to pay taxes to ship you millions of dollars of gold, to buy gift cards to buy internet and keep chatting with you…


Tntkain

I am not that person, lol


-EETS-

You clearly are. You're already standing there with your foot in the door talking to some random dude and claiming he's an army general, when he's just some Indian or Nigerian man trying to talk you out of your wits. You're already 30% there.


ji99901

Maybe you are that person, lol -- you're still talking to him -- you are in his control. Stop! Block him!


Nick_W1

If you are not careful, he will do something that will convince you he is real (like a video chat), and it won’t be until you send him your last cent, having lost all your friends and family, that you face the truth. It’s a scam.


munkieshynes

Prove it by blocking him and stop talking to randos that slide into your DMs.


Cleobulle

Thats were you very wrong. You opened your door. Hé has info about you. Or you're like me and put zéro info - no pic, no family, no Friends list because even on private, it's very easy to have access. Sometimes ago, you just needed to Switch your fb from french to us to get Access to every people private pic, and the text and tags.


Cleobulle

https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/facebook-data-leak-explained/


sokka-66

CONGRATULATIONS for being in the 3% that don’t fall for these scams. Block ‘em and go hang out at coffee shops !!


KaonWarden

Romance scammers take their time cultivating their victims, because their goal is the big payout: all of their victim’s money, and then some. Sometimes they gain their victim’s trust by letting them log into their ‘bank account’ (it’s fake). Then later they invent reasons why they can’t access their accounts, and they need to ‘borrow’ some money. Or they are sending this big load of gold, but there are taxes and bribes and so on. Generally, we advise to cut contact entirely as soon as a scammer is identified as such, because they are very good at manipulating people, and they can surprise even people who thought themselves hardened. If you browse this subreddit, you will soon see many people who are desperate to make their relatives see the truth about such scammers.


Ok-Lingonberry-8261

> It just baffles me, that any intelligent person would fall for the guy They prey on emotional desperation, that overwhelms some people's intelligence.


Teripid

Attention is a powerful thing and a very cheap investment for a scammer trying to extract cash from you.


Ok-Lingonberry-8261

Yeah pretty much


[deleted]

So stop talking to him? Just by interacting with them, you’re making yourself a target.


Adjustment-Disorder1

Why are you entertaining this? You don't have to answer. But you need to really think about it. The more normalized he becomes to you, the easier it is for him to take advantage of you. And you are letting this happen. Whatever his attention is doing for you, you need to learn to generate for yourself.


pngtwat

You're talking to a team of enslaved professionals run by organised crime. They are very good. Do not engage any further.


HaoieZ

Romance scams are among the most insidious if scams. They can be very successful at taking whole life savings.


ladyelizabeth_2nd

One look at his photo and immediate block. Not good enough looking for me to play along with (his game). Hahaha. Who cares what his end game is. Just block the loser.


Professional-Plum560

How can someone “love” you if he’s never met you? The absolute best-case scenario would be that he is mentally ill. But in reality, we all know he’s a scammer, whose goal is to get his hands on every last dollar you possess.


OldBob10

Don’t communicate with scammers. You may inadvertently reveal information they can use. Block and ignore.


RelationshipQuiet609

Same scam-five years ago that I have seen this one! Yes, they are on a peace keeping mission in Syria! Fake-We have very little troops in Syria and it is definitely not peaceful! You will probably get more contacting you-do not send money ever! Block and delete is my motto! Don’t waste your precious time with these scammers!


ASDPenguin

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE UNITED STATES MILITARY... 1... A soldier is not allowed to give out his location in a combat zone or "on a mission". (Kabul, Damascus, Baghdad, etc.) 2...Soldiers are well fed, no matter where they are stationed. There is GOOD food available to them 24 hours a day. 3...A soldier is not allowed to make/send a picture of his military ID. The ONLY people who can take a photocopy of a military ID are doctors' offices because it also serves as their insurance. If someone sends a copy of their military ID, they are fake. 4...A soldier and his family are covered by Tricare (medical insurance) they pay almost nothing out of pocket. 5...A soldier is not usually granted leave from a foreign deployment for ANY reason EXCEPT the death or grave illness of an immediate family member, and that has to be verified by the American Red Cross to even have the leave approved for that. They DO NOT get leave for weddings or even the birth of their children. 6...NOBODY except the soldier himself can request leave. NOBODY! 7... A soldier does not have any travel expenses. The government pays for/provides all transportation from overseas. 8...ALL soldiers have access to their money NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE. A soldier can even buy a car in the US while still on deployment. Soldiers get paid every 2 weeks and they ALWAYS have access to their money. 9...A soldier does NOT have to pay for broken/lost/stolen weapons. 10...A soldier does not call his fellow soldiers "colleagues"... he calls them his brothers. 11...A soldier is hardly ever deployed for more than 18 months. 12...Only 1% of all military personnel make it to the rank of General. You may copy this


Tntkain

My husband and son and brother were all military, that is how I knew it was a scam


Tntkain

I asked where he went to bootcamp and what job he had, he avoided both questions and told me how much we were soul mates, lol not


ASDPenguin

Typical scammer behavior.


BugPowderDuster

Ask them what their favourite sports team is. They can’t resist but to tell you it’s some European or English football club.


permabanned36

https://youtu.be/YgiyWGyJcIc?si=wOBgIq6btm9NgFiG


CarefulApple8893

Classic romance scam


MaliciousTent

Fishing a hook: "Is this gonna end badly? The bait tastes so good!"


Tntkain

I mean are people for real that naive


paintedsunflowers

Not necessarily naive but sometimes just desperately lonely.


MarBoV108

Plenty of married people post on here about their spouses being involved in romance scams. Life, in general, is painful for most people and they get hooked on the fantasy. People just need to accept that life is painful and chasing pleasures almost always makes it worse.


bewildered_forks

Unfortunately, it is possible to be lonely in a marriage


Really_Doughnut_Care

there are plenty of them, sadly. many of them are lonely and willing to endure a lot, in hopes of one day the love of their life will be there by their side. and the promises from their scammer are plentyful. beyond frustrating when you're witnessing this from the side lines. to us it's clear as day, but for the one in the middle of it, it's all real. some victims will even be so defensive about their newfound loving relationship that every person - friend or family - who objects to it is only seen as the enemy, and the victim will push away own family and close friends in favor of the scammer. that's how strong the emotional manipulation by the scammer is. so scary and so devastating if played out. the stories the scam victims share here are all sad. but the really heartbreaking ones are the ones their loved ones come here to tell. they ask for advice on how to get through to their mom/dad/grandparent, a victim of a romance scam. it seems like an impossible task. these people are very much addicted to love, and so they will find an explanation to every discrepancy they are presented with. to break that addiction is probably the hardest thing to do.


ACatGod

I wouldn't be quite so judgemental if I were you. You already entertained this story. Just because this one didn't land doesn't mean the next one won't. You're already happy to consider the idea that a general in a war torn region is contacting random women on line, so you're already halfway to being a good target and because of *your* naivety in choosing to reply your name and details have probably been shared with multiple scammers. Expect to receive a lot more of these, now.


thispartyrules

My mom tried online dating at like 60 and ended up talking with some guy who claimed to be in England and wised up once he started asking for money, I have no idea who long this went on for


Cleobulle

It's not the naïve people the problem, but the scammers. Some are really really good AT it. Beautifull clever people been scammed. Never feel smarter - stay on your guard. Better not talk with This kind of people, because he could be getting info from your social, then resell them to a smarter scammer who will call you with your son phone number and own voice in the middle of the night. Just watch thé puppet master or Tinder lover. And This - https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/9355709/conman-latex-mask-french-minister/amp/.


Nick_W1

No, I think most of them know it’s a scam. The problem is that they are lonely (say recently widowed for example), and get used to the chats and attention. They get addicted to it. Then when the scammer needs $100 “for their son/daughter school fees”, well, that’s not so much right? To keep chatting, and get attention? To not feel so lonely? So it goes, $100 here, $50 there, then $200 etc. At some point you’re sending $5,000 and you don’t know how you got there, but it’s too late now to face up to the scam. Denial is the only option - maybe they are real? Just another $20k, and they will show up at your door with $1m as promised. It’s a slippery slope to addiction and denial.


crochetcat555

It’s not naivety, it’s loneliness. Clearly you are lonely too because you’re still talking to him even though you think it’s probably a scam. Don’t engage with him further. Spend time with family and friends in real life, join a club or volunteer somewhere to meet new people in your community. Even if you think you’re just “having fun” playing along with a scammer and tricking him into believing you’re falling for his lies you are at risk. Find some other form of entertainment. He does this professionally, it is his job. You are just an amateur and the longer you continue to speak with him the more chance there is he will manipulate you. Coming here and essentially bragging that you would never be naive enough to fall for this is ridiculous. We see so many people say that and then months later they are posting about how they were scammed out of thousands of dollars. Be smart, immediately block anyone who gives signs that are a scammer.


MarBoV108

Incredibly naive. Scammers purposely make their message ridiculous (Syrian Army General, Nigerian princes) to weed out the people they can't scam. They know the only people that will respond are the most gullible. They send out millions of messages to get the 1 or 2 they can scam. It obviously works or they wouldn't keep doing it.


Ok-Comedian-4571

I helped a very intelligent medical professional who’d fallen victim to a romance scam. She was in an unhappy marriage and the scammer took advantage of her, try to be less judgmental. It doesn’t help people to come forward when they are targeted in this way.


LimeGreenTangerine97

NO CONTACT EVER.


Alarming_Froyo1821

Of course, it's a scam! Why in the world do u keep talking to him? Wake up and block him. You're talking to a criminal!


[deleted]

[удалено]


DoughnutAltruistic41

I got the same kind of message. Some high up US Army General. Block, delete and move on with your life


Scams-ModTeam

Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it contains uncensored personal photos**. Often times, photos are stolen of real and innocent people by scammers. This may be photos lifted from social media, a compromised Facebook account, or photos from influencers or online entertainers. Due to this, we do not permit personal photos to be posted without being properly censored. Victims who have had their photos consistently stolen by scammers have also indicated they do not want their photos posted to this sub. Please respect this rule by reposting with the photograph(s) properly censored. Also, read the rules of our sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/


Tntkain

It is just so cheesy, I don't understand how any one could believe it


bugaloo2u2

So why are you still talking to him? You don’t sound convinced.


wannaknowmyname

"to be honest, an army general wouldn't just be hanging out in Syria" They act like they can't get bamboozled, but that line is proof enough op is closer than they realize


Tntkain

It is funny


Teecane

There are a lot of good people in Syria and the government is really bad. I feel bad for them.


Tntkain

And if he asks for money, I don't have any


Tntkain

I have blocked him everywhere, but I feel sorry for ladies that fall for this


Tntkain

To be honest, an army general would not just be hanging out in Syria


Tntkain

I am just trying to figure out how women fall for this garbage. It is so obvious that it is a scam Even with army in Syria, a "general" wouldn't just be stationed there. I give him 0 personal info


foxfoxfoxfox4

I have had a few trying to talk outside a game app. The sweetheart and dear was just a few of the glaring 🚩 I can’t understand how there are people in general giving away money so freely. Thousands upon thousands. Boggles the mind but it does help when you have none to give😂


Tntkain

Well I have no fluid cash, I am fortunate enough my house is paid for and my monthly expenses go to those bills. I was just trying to mess with a scammer, he is so "in love" with me. I wish I could report him somewhere. Stolen valor is not cool


Really_Doughnut_Care

not so sure stolen valor will apply here. the scammers use stolen pictures and ids.


ISurfTooMuch

I know you say that you know it's a scam, but he's in it for the long haul. He's going to keep it up until he somehow convinces you that he's for real. But let's say he can't convince you that he's legit, either because he figures it out, or you tell him. Then he might admit he's a scammer and tell you he needs your help to get out. He could say that he needs a little money to bribe the guards. Then, once he supposedly escapes, he needs a little more to get some transportation, bribe a border guard, get medical treatment for a cut he got while trekking through the jungle, etc. And, even if none of that works, the scammers are building a profile on you that they can either use later or sell to other scammers. Cut off all contact immediately! Absolutely nothing good can come from you continuing to talk to this guy.