Active Duty Military - Help needed on possible scam

[Kies99]

Wife of a "former" Marine (because once a Marine...) and wanted to mention that the Marines Corps do not have a "Special Forces", that is Army. Marine Corps is Marine Force Recon or just Recon.

That was my thought...what are "Marine Special Forces"?? Thanks!

 

[gk90]

Why not have your CW show this whole thread to her sister, seeing so many replies might convince her or at the very least make her a bit more wary.
Too many scammers/con artists around who can be very personable and convincing, unfortunately. Good luck!

 

[HLAuburn]

I feel kinda bad for your CW's sister. She obviously has some doubt since she asked the guy to send an ID in the first place, but I'm sure she has that little bit of hope that he's legit.

How long has she been talking to him? What sort of relationship do they have? Is he supposedly deployed overseas somewhere?

 

[bumbershoot]

I feel kinda bad for your CW's sister. She obviously has some doubt since she asked the guy to send an ID in the first place, but I'm sure she has that little bit of hope that he's legit.

Yes, but it was only "to put to rest CW's concerns". She obviously assumed it was going to prove that he's real, not show the 1000 ways he's fake.

 

[amjetmech]

That was my thought...what are "Marine Special Forces"?? Thanks!

Not to go OT, but all branches have Special Forces.

But, the ID is a complete fake, CAC ID's are only valid for 3 years, at least with the Navy. I hope that everything works out for the best in this situation.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Once you talk to her, tell her not to discontinue discussion but contact the local office of the FBI. Save all e-mails, especially the copy of the ID card, for them.

They should handle this and send the scammer to jail.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Not to go OT, but all branches have Special Forces.

But, the ID is a complete fake, CAC ID's are only valid for 3 years, at least with the Navy. I hope that everything works out for the best in this situation.

My husband's is currently valid for 6 years, based on his contract. He is Army Reserves.

 

[gk90]

Once you talk to her, tell her not to discontinue discussion but contact the local office of the FBI. Save all e-mails, especially the copy of the ID card, for them.

They should handle this and send the scammer to jail.

Yes, this is a federal crime: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1028
But if CW's sister is so convinced that her "special forces" guy is legitimate then she's not going to want to report him to authorities, is she?

 

[danceintherain]

The first thing I noticed was the validity date. Generally speaking ID cards are issued for less time than you actually need them for. My husband got his first in 2009 and it's only good until 2013 which is when his active duty commitment is up. At that point he'll have to replace it with either a new active duty card or a reserves card. Did they even have CAC cards like that in 2003?

He obviously changed "Armed" to "Special"
Some people will have their pictures taken in their uniforms, but it's done at an ID office, not in a portrait studio.

I'm also not sure about the rank. I know they tend to back date them for entitlements purposes, but I doubt they would back date it 10 years.

 

[Stephanie218]

That was my thought...what are "Marine Special Forces"?? Thanks!

MARSOC is known as the Special Forces (Operations) of the Marine Corps. But as others have said, it wouldn't say that on his ID. Nevermind the different fonts, etc. I compared the ID to my husband's CAC card (he's AD MC) and there's a crazy amount of differences that it isn't even vaguely close to authentic. Hope your CW's sister listens to you!

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

my #1 question is why the heck is her sending her a copy of his "ID" card ?

we just compared it to DH's card and so many things are wrong, what a joke !

But as many said, it is illegal and should be reported.

 

[LilyWDW]

I will be honest, I know nothing about the military or their cards...

But this card raises all sorts of red flags to me even without a background. There is just so much going on that yells "fake" or "edited (badly)".

 

[Kies99]

Thanks everyone.

CW has gone to some friends in local law enforcement already as well as she contacted the local USMC recruiter who was very interested and took all the details. She also sent the information to NCIS.

While everyone would hope the guy is legit (for the sister's sake), we all know it's not. The sister however thinks my CW is overreacting and everything is fine.

new update though...he sent her his picture while he was deployed. Guess what...it was a link to a picture on a USMC website. Not a scanned picture or one from his phone or anything. Another red flag that she fails to see issue with.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Thanks everyone.

CW has gone to some friends in local law enforcement already as well as she contacted the local USMC recruiter who was very interested and took all the details. She also sent the information to NCIS.

While everyone would hope the guy is legit (for the sister's sake), we all know it's not. The sister however thinks my CW is overreacting and everything is fine.

new update though...he sent her his picture while he was deployed. Guess what...it was a link to a picture on a USMC website. Not a scanned picture or one from his phone or anything. Another red flag that she fails to see issue with.

Not to be offensive but your CW's sister sounds pretty desperate if she is willing to look past all these red flags.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Thanks everyone.

CW has gone to some friends in local law enforcement already as well as she contacted the local USMC recruiter who was very interested and took all the details. She also sent the information to NCIS.

While everyone would hope the guy is legit (for the sister's sake), we all know it's not. The sister however thinks my CW is overreacting and everything is fine.

new update though...he sent her his picture while he was deployed. Guess what...it was a link to a picture on a USMC website. Not a scanned picture or one from his phone or anything. Another red flag that she fails to see issue with.

I'm really worried about this poor woman. Is she giving him money? Part of this kind of scam is giving money saying that the military member can't afford to call home or worse wants to come visit from a deployment but needs airfare money. Please make sure she isn't emptying out an account for him.

Heck if nothing else you can just tell her being married to the military is not all it is cracked up to be. Certainly not like Officer and Gentleman Alot of the time it is like Beavis and Butthead

 

[Kies99]

All I can say is...Glad this is not my family or anyone I know! I'm just helping out my CW.

As of now, no request for money has been made nor has any money been sent.

Oh and as an update, I found out where the fake ID came from. It was lifted off of Ebay from a seller in China. Had the same watermark and everything.

 

[Local_Girl]

Heck if nothing else you can just tell her being married to the military is not all it is cracked up to be. Certainly not like Officer and Gentleman Alot of the time it is like Beavis and Butthead

 

[ceecee]

I hope she turns him in, totally fake and probably has a LOT of other women on the line the same as she is.

 

[sissy_ib]

I hope she turns him in, totally fake and probably has a LOT of other women on the line the same as she is.

Everyone is saying report it and turn him in. To where? He gave her a fake name and info! She can report it to the authorities but they might not even be able to do anything about it. What does she have beyond a name that is probably fake and a email address? For all we know he is in Nigeria or something.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Everyone is saying report it and turn him in. To where? He gave her a fake name and info! She can report it to the authorities but they might not even be able to do anything about it. What does she have beyond a name that is probably fake and a email address? For all we know he is in Nigeria or something.

The military and agencies that deal with the military can search and find alot of things the average person doesn't even think about. There is NCIS, CGIS, etc