Cyber Fraudsters Persistently Dupe People by Masquerading as a Four-Star U.S. Army General
In a recent warning, the U.S. Army has highlighted a variety of online scams, including sextortion schemes, wire transfers, and bullying harassment. One of the most common methods used by scammers is impersonating American soldiers, particularly on social media and dating sites.
These fraudsters use publicly available images of soldiers to create fake identities. They then use these profiles to set up sexual advances and pleas for money, often under the guise of service-related needs. Reports from 2014 describe interactions on Tinder and Skype with individuals posing as high-ranking Army generals, such as General Stephen J. Townsend.
General Townsend, commanding general of TRADOC, does not have any social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Instagram, Google Hang Out, dating sites, or chat room accounts. However, phony pages impersonating him have been discovered, with one Facebook page having more than 90 followers, all from India, but no posts.
The criminals often embellish General Townsend's real-life details with tragic or romantic backstories, using them as a sexual lure. Victims of these "romance scams" can lose tens of thousands of dollars and face a slim likelihood of recovering any of it.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) receives hundreds of reports each month from victims of scams perpetrated by online impersonators. These scammers often present documents and other 'proof' of their financial need when asking their victims to wire money to them.
The Army warns that the most common scheme involves criminals, often from West African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon, pretending to be U.S. soldiers serving in a combat zone or other overseas location. Soldiers are advised not to put their current locations on social media, as this can be another red flag when encountering suspicious activity on dating sites.
Joe Pappalardo, a contributing writer at Popular Mechanics and author of the new book, Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight, has also highlighted this issue. He warns that victims should be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
In light of these scams, the Army has issued a plea stating that General Stephen J. Townsend is not on any social media platforms. They urge the public to verify the identities of individuals before engaging in any online interactions, especially those claiming to be military personnel.
