San Angelo Police Warning of a 'Soldier' Scam

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The San Angelo Police Department is warning residents of a suspicious text message from someone claiming to be a soldier who is deployed to Afghanistan and wants money. 

Never send money to someone claiming to be a Soldier!

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) receives hundreds of reports a month from individuals who have fallen victim to a scam perpetrated by a person impersonating a U.S. Soldier online.

The most common scheme involves criminals, often from other countries -- most notably from West African countries -- pretending to be U.S. Soldiers serving in a combat zone or other overseas location. These crooks often present documents and other "proof" of their financial need when asking their victims to wire money to them.

BE SUSPICIOUS OF A PERSON WHO ...

Asks you for money for transportation costs, communication fees, marriage processing or medical fees. NEVER SEND MONEY!

Asks you to send money or ship property to a third party. Often times the company exists, but is not part of the scam.

Claims a lack of support or services provided to troops overseas.

Communicates only via social media or email.

Doesn't use an email address ending with ".mil." All military members have a ".mil" email address, so there is a high probability that a person is not in the military if they cannot provide one.

Uses common spelling, grammatical or language errors.
Speaks with a foreign or regional accent that does not match the person's story. (Source: US Army)