Oh, how I wish I didn’t have to write this, but it needs to get out there. I’m not the only one who went through it either, and apparently I never knew this shit even went on. I was into dating apps at the time and I was a part of at least 3 Badoo, Tinder, and Plenty of Fish. After not having as much luck and a shitload of hits on one I found someone on Badoo. I actually don’t want to give out his name so let’s go with Greg. He was sweet at first, and I actually got along with him. I even thought I was falling for it. Her said he was in the military on a secret mission in Africa. Should have been a red flag instead I was an idiot, and even let slide him not being able to call me or video me since the device he has doesn’t have a camera. Another red flag so you would think I would actually listen…Nope, because he was hot..And he also gave me a fake job title, another red flag, and a fake rank..Another. I did research online and I even found the soldier he was impersonating. I should have ended it there, and instead I bought into it giving him money so he could get a phone..(Why the fuck did I do such a dumb thing?)…He was good at emotional manipulation, and when I refused to give him money at first. He said why since we are using it as a foundation for our love…Another thing is he said I love you at lightning speed…Another red flag. You can’t really love someone if you haven’t seen them…And he wanted to take it off the dating site and move to another platform. Another red flag, and it was mainly through messaging. No phone number, no video, and there was a promise to meet in person but it never happened. After I was dumb enough to give him money he needed access to my online banking account…Should have said no, but my dumbass said yes. So it ended up with me being dumb enough to give him money through Coinbase a program with bitcoins, and cash drops with MoneyGram which should have raised a red flag…And his reason was so he could get groceries and toiletries…That should have been another one since they give the soldiers food while they are deployed. There is also no reason why they can’t use their own account either. And I started to get wiser since there were no public records on him, and there were on the soldiers whose identity he stole. He used a soldiers real picture and pretended to be him. Even fabricating a story to make him seem real, but his profile on the website and the shit he told me didn’t make sense. Like it said he was 35 when he was really 39…And I don’t usually date dudes that old…Joined at 19 when the legal age is 18. Even friends were beginning to warn me as well as family. Before I knew it the checks were bouncing, and I was down money since the bounced check took from my parents. So really…Instead of arguing with him when I was fed up I blocked him. I blocked his messages, email, and the fake account he made trying to fuck with me again. Deep down I know he knows what he did was wrong, and I reported it to the Internet Crime Complaint place, and get my finances back in order. It’s embarrassing, but I thought he really was the soldier he pretended to be, but then I got wiser since it turned out it wasn’t him at all. There were no traces of him even in court records, and the only trace was the identity of the real person. After the bank shit I really couldn’t afford to lose anymore…Hence why I blocked him since explaining shit to him is like talking to a brick wall. He needed stuff explained to him in screenshots, and quite frankly if he didn’t understand what he did wrong I wasn’t going to waste anymore time on it. The best thing to do is cut off all contact…Here are my tips to make sure it doesn’t happen to you! It’s not just military people it’s others they steal too.
Tips For Staying Safe From Online Dating Scammers:
Stay on the App! Don’t let them take you anywhere else unless it’s like Facebook, or something legit. The app I used was Google Hangouts which a lot of scammers use. If it’s Kik then it definitely can be legitimate. Snapchat is legitimate especially if they can send real time pictures.
Video Them! Chances are they have a phone with a camera so you can see them. Better yet ask for their phone number to hear them over the phone. I should never have believed him when he said he didn’t have a camera…It’s bullshit.
Meet up in person especially if they live close, and be sure to pick a public place too.
If they give you pics then use this site: https://www.tineye.com/ It can tell you where it has been used.
Also research the shit out of them…Stalking is now researching. Especially see if they have a social media profile. If they don’t they could be fake. You can even check their history if they are a criminal or not if you know where they live and their first and last names.
Never give them money either.
Also if they are military make them verify it by getting something that shows they are the real deal. Military ID in person, email, APO address, ask about the base, MREs or even rank. Even talk to other people in the branch to see if what they say checks out. Be careful if they switch stories, or seem like they have copy and pasted shit. Like Greg could have gotten some of the sayings somewhere else, and he has even repeated stuff to me to where I was like he said this already. Got one of the checks back in a different name so he must have been using someone…Not in his. Luckily, I got out before any real damage was done maybe to my heart and somewhat my wallet. This is going to be a mistake I will never forget. And I told my story so people can be forewarned. I always thought scammers were in email, phone, and bullshit stuff never on online dating sites…I was wrong.
If you have ever been scammed what happened? Do you have a story like that too? If so tell me it! I hope by reporting it more people can be warned and the person stopped since the more it’s reported the more that can be done to stop it from happening again. If you feel the person isn’t who they say they are then block them. If they keep making excuses as to why they can’t meet or talk on the phone. Block them! If they ask for money then definitely block it! Be smart since you don’t want to mess with the wrong person and pay the price. If they try to get you to answer their messages keep blocking! Don’t let them emotionally fuck you over either since it’s not worth it in the long run….
Stay safe!
Love Wolfdreamer!
