Have you met a soldier online?  Are you trying to verify if the person you met online is a real soldier? Thousands of people are in the exact same position because the trend for online romance scammers pretending to be a soldier is rising significantly.  Romance scammers know that people in the military are often attractive, lonely, with scarce communication options, and very difficult to track down, not to mention that most people feel an immediate sympathy for these heroes. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a brave soldier in Afghanistan or Syria? Posing as a soldier gives fraudsters leverage on many different levels, which is why military scams continue to grow despite the warnings.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than $25 million US dollars were reported lost during 2017 alone to military scams. Unreported losses could easily be several times this number, as most victims feel too embarrassed to report the fraud.  Experts agree, this is the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the alarming figures, professional international investigators at Wymoo International have been busting scammers and ruining a great deal of their fraud business for a long time. According to John Wallace, Director of International Background Checks, investigators work on dozens of cases of military fraud and scam on a daily basis.  In some cases, the individual claiming to be in the military is exactly who he or she claims to be.  In other cases, clients learn through detailed evidence that they were actually communicating with a criminal, and all information provided was false.  Knowing if your online partner if real or not, as soon as possible, is critical to avoiding fraud.

The sooner internet users consult a reputable private investigator trained to verify individuals claiming to be in the military, the sooner you know the facts, so you can stay safe and make an informed decision.  Investigators urge clients to verify early in the relationship, and not wait until it is too late and the damage is done.  Experienced criminals using sites like Match.com, Facebook, Tinder, PlentyofFish, eHarmoney and Okcupid can quickly steal a victim’s identity and money.  Investigators are seeing a sharp rise in blackmail cases and sextortion, as criminals gain access to victim’s webcams.

In an ideal world, scammers would not stand a chance to deceive anyone because people would verify the identity and background of the person they met online as soon as they found an interest in them.  Unfortunately, the majority of the people who contact an investigator have already been victim in one way or another because they refused to seek professional help on time.

How exactly do investigators bust the scammers?

It is easy to create a fake dating or social media profile. There are hundreds of millions of them.  But fake profiles and identities can be uncovered by professional investigators and dating background check investigations.  A dating background check is a thorough investigation that is specifically designed to prove who is real and who is not. It is not based on an internet or database search. Dating background check investigations are conducted by real and professional investigators who are highly trained, in different locations around the world who obtain reliable evidence for clients. Investigators will verify the identity of a given person by checking birth records, military records, travel and immigration records, verify the authenticity of passport, IDs and documents, check criminal, court, address and marriage records, verify education and employment, and more.  Every piece of information is verified directly at the sources to avoid confusion and assure that the evidence found is reliable. Once everything has been checked, the information is put together in a detailed report.

Reports from actual investigators are written by trained professionals, with evidence and details outlining the investigation, not a generic print out of some database or internet search.

When should someone consider an investigation?

If you meet someone online and they claim to be a soldier, hire a professional. As mentioned before, most people wait for a red flag, a sign or for a way to verify themselves online.  This can only put you more at risk. Knowing the evidence sooner rather than later makes all the difference.

Contact us today if you have recently met a soldier online.

C. Wright
© 2018 Wymoo International

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