Legal & Finance

How can I tell if I'm the victim of a military romance scam?

Published: 03/06/19 | Updated: 03/18/19

There are some clues to help you determine if the person you are corresponding with is actually a member of the U.S. military or government. Please be aware that there are numerous scams involving alleged service members, and check into this information before giving out your personal data or making any payments. 

Service members and government employees do not pay to go on leave, to have their personal effects sent home, or to fly back to the United States from an overseas deployment or assignment. Any leave requests are made by the service members or employees alone. Any official military or government emails will end in .mil or .gov.

We recommend that you visit the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command website, which includes helpful information to help you evaluate whether you are being scammed: https://www.cid.army.mil/report-a-crime.html. Please scroll down the web page and click on the section titled Impersonation Fraud & Romance Scams. The article also provides other U.S. government agencies where you can report your scam, such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.