Love Scammers Use Dead Soldiers to Snare Victims

Love Scammers Use Dead Soldiers to Snare Victims
Michael Brick

(Oct. 6) -- Tired of masquerading as the obscure nephew of some deposed banana republic dictator? What if I told you that you could make a good income, starting today, all from the comfort of your own neighborhood cafe in Lagos, Nigeria -- or wherever? Using the quick, easy, not-patented method of impersonating fallen American soldiers, you too can exploit the trust of lonely women. All you need is an Internet connection!

Yes, it has come to this: Twenty-one years after Elwood Edwards recorded the announcement "You've got mail" and nearly nine years into one of the country's most prolonged overseas military engagements, purveyors of fraud have built a ghoulish trade on the combination of those two seemingly permanent aspects of modern life.

"They look for patriotic women, and they play on their heartstrings," Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, told AOL News.

Using photographs and biographical details culled from Facebook pages, memorial sites and news accounts, the perpetrators pose as living soldiers looking for love online.

In response, the U.S. government has issued warnings, with its embassy in London going so far as to post online examples of fraudulent military papers used in scams.

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Love Scammers Use Dead Soldiers to Snare Victims