He looks rugged and handsome in the pictures but refuses to do a video call. He talks about his exploits in a warzone, but things sound off? You might actually be talking to a fake UK soldier instead of someone with a brown job. Here’s how to tell if you’re dealing with a con artist. Just check out what questions to ask a military scammer!

How can you tell a military scammer from a soldier?

It all boils down to how careful you are online. Each soldier in the British Army is given a unique identification number that corresponds to the regiment that they’re a part of. If they move from one regiment to another, their number changes too. If you’re thinking of what questions to ask a military scammer, this is the first one.

It doesn’t matter if they’re not the armed forces but a part of the RAF or the Royal Navy, given that they too have identification numbers that are similar to the ones issued in the army. Here’s a tip: under the new JPA system, all Royal Navy service numbers begin with an eight-digital format, starting with three. So if your new beau is sending you a different set of digits, you can count that as a red flag.

Do a reverse check on their pictures

They sent you a lot of pictures, too many for them to turn out to be fake… right? How can you tell a military scammer is not really a scammer when they’re providing you with proof? Google has a nifty little feature called a reverse image search. It’s actually pretty simple. Hop on over to images.google.com and click the camera icon. Upload the image that you’re trying to check and hit search. If the image is stolen, you’ll most likely be able to find its original source. You can learn more about this here.

If you’re talking to a fraudster, the likelihood is that they stole images that were already publicly available. You should be able to find their original owner. What questions to ask a military scammer must start with why they’re stealing someone’s photos!

What questions to ask a military scammer

The list when it comes to what questions to ask a military scammer should start with why they’re asking you for a favour. They want gifts because they’re lonely? They need your help with a financial problem? Their bank account is giving them trouble because they’re deployed? There are so many things that a scammer will tell their victim when they’re trying to get money or merchandise from them. An easy way to tell is to see what happens when you say no.

Follow the money

No military man or woman will ever need you to pay for food or housing, so if those two topics ever come up, run away in the opposite direction. No soldier will also need your help getting funds from one place to another, so don’t fall for that trick either.

Take anything about money with a grain of salt. A real soldier would never need you to bail him out or fund any part of his life while he’s in service. So if you’re toying with the topic of what questions to ask a military scammer, make sure you ask them about their obsession with financials – especially your own. It goes without saying, but never share your bank details with someone you’ve met online!

They can’t video chat

It’s a security risk for soldiers to video chat. This is actually a complete lie. And it’s also a great way how can you tell a military scammer from an actual soldier. Because of how difficult it can be for many soldiers while they are in a warzone, they are actually encouraged to stay in touch with family and friends. That would include you too, if you are actually in touch with someone who’s the real deal.

No need for speed

Does it feel like they fell in love with you a little too fast? Have they already proposed? The likelihood is that you’re being love bombed. Here’s the thing about scammers, they don’t actually have that much time. So if you’re stuck on what questions to ask a military scammer, ask them why they seem to be in a hurry.

Scammer or not, anyone who is trying to tie you down to something too fast is a bad idea!

How Forces Penpals checks for scam

Long before this became an actual problem, our team at Forces Penpals was also wondering what questions to ask a military scammer.

It’s no secret that our services are free for serving members of the UK military. And this is ultimately the reason we always do an identity check when we let people sign on. We know how to support our soldiers and keep you safe, too.

We also do “dip” checks, where we pick people randomly to see if they are still in active service. Remember that it’s a crime to tell people you are in the military if you aren’t.

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