Posted on 12/27/2007 4:29:05 AM PST by Daffynition
A 3rd Infantry Division soldier deploying to Iraq is warning other servicemembers of the latest scam to target troops and their families.
According to 1st Lt. David Cowan, in early December his 84-year-old grandmother received a phone call from a man calling himself J.D. Taylor. The man claimed that Cowan was on his way home on leave from Iraq for the holidays, but had gotten hung up and lost his wallet and military identification card.
Cowan’s grandmother, he said, was “asked by this person to wire $800, allegedly on my behalf so that I could get back home and surprise my family for Christmas.”
The claim was a scam. Luckily for Cowan and his family, his grandmother knew to be suspicious of strangers asking for money, even if they’d somehow managed to reach the relatives of a soldier whose name they knew.
“I told her to write down everything she could remember from the conversation and to immediately contact the authorities,” Cowan wrote in an e-mail to Stripes. “My grandmother is 84, and still a very sharp woman. Thankfully, she immediately saw through his scam and decided to contact me directly.”
Cowan suspects the scam artist will try a similar ruse with other military families. And according to federal investigators, he’s probably right.
In recent years, the FBI has tracked a growing number of scams targeting military families or making false claims to prey on the public’s feelings of good will for troops.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has tracked scams including ones sent from purported soldiers who have found or “stolen” millions of dollars in Iraq. Those scams are similar to the “Nigerian” e-mail scams.
“The scam e-mails vary in content; however, the general theme of each is to request personal information and/or funds from the individual receiving the e-mail,” according to an FBI primer on the subject.
Despite repeated warnings about these particular or general scams, FBI officials say, many people still fall for them.
Investigators say Cowan handled the situation correctly. Law enforcement authorities advise people to never provide any personal or financial information over the phone or send money to a stranger on a relative’s behalf.
If contacted by a suspicious-sounding person, one should record the details of the conversation and immediately contact local and federal authorities, they say.
That’s just sick.
Maybe if the crook is an illegal alien, ICE will go after him now.......but then again, maybe not.
whats sad is i wouldnt be suprised if its another soldier.
theres a few bad apples out there. we got a few in my unit.
I handle some complaints (I’m a police officer) from people who have been victimized by scams such as this and others. The best thing to do is get a phone number, or any other information they are willing to give, from these people and tell them you will call them back.
I actually had a person who was a potential victim bring me in a phone number from a guy claiming to be an FBI agent trying to scam him out of money. I called the guy back and had loads of fun. Then called the FBI and gave them the information I had.
A good website to look over is www.419eater.com It is a site where people turn the tables on the e-mail scammers. Loads of laughs.
Tar ‘n feathers would be too good for the perps.
I’m just glad the 84 y/o grannie still had her buttons and was able to report this nonsense. Deployment is difficult enough for families and ripping out their hearts and pocketbooks is the lowest of the low.
Bank of Amigo
Acct# BR549
SSN 123456789X12345
What else do ya need?
> Bank of Amigo
> Acct# BR549
> SSN 123456789X12345
> What else do ya need?
OMG, you just gave Junior Samples’ phone and social security number to the hackers.
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