My husband is serving in Afghanistan he has sent a parcel via courier

Customer Question
My husband is serving in Afghanistan he has sent a parcel via courier. The courier was in Ghana £2,300 was paid he is now in heathrow London and wants £48.000. The parcel contains army papers and 3million US dollars.? I cannnot raise that money?


Already Tried:
nothing
Submitted: 97 days and 14 hours ago.
Category: Fraud Examiner
Value: £22
Status: CLOSED
Accepted Answer

Expert:  Ben Jones replied 97 days and 14 hours ago.

Ben Jones :
Hello and thank you for your question, which I will be happy to assist you with. You say this is from your husband - why would he send this money to you?
Customer :
He saved a life in Afghanistan the man visited the US base in Afghanistan last week and gave me the money. My husband is finished his service but on his last day was shot due to his injury he is unable to leave the base
Customer :
The guy he saved from the taliban turned out to be a oil millionaire
Customer :
My husband says if I do not raise the money ins £48.000 GP he will kill himself and his armay papers are also i the parcel and both he an dI will go to jail
Customer :
Sorry we will both go to jail
Ben Jones :
So if he is your husband, have you actually met him in person or did you meet and marry online?
Customer :
I have met him online we are due to get married when he comes home from Afghanistan to the UK , we then go the the US to get married and collect his 11 year old son
Customer :
I have a code for the parcel in Heathrow
Ben Jones :
is he with the US army?
Customer :
The man is a widower and 9 years ago lost his wife in a car accident. I have been in contact with his son
Customer :
Yes with the US Army
Customer :
He actually finished on 23rd April 2012 and was waiting for the date when he got shot
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Ben Jones :
ok let me get my answer ready please
Customer :
ok
Customer :
My husband to be does not want me to discuss this with anybody. I have a tex certificate from the courier would you like me to send it to you?
Ben Jones :
it's ok thanks
Customer :
Good Day Madam, The United States Treasury Department, They are still waiting for us to let then know when the fund will be available even though I applied my diplomatic immunity, they didn't budge because they said that since after September 11 terrorist attacks,the UK govt stripped all immunities on bulk consignments coming into the UK. its not possible for me to open the trunks because I didn't have the code combination and that even if I had the combination,I wouldn't dare open it because your husband never permitted me. Madam i advice you act fast before things will get out of hand as am also trying my best here to see if they can reduce that amount for us, because if nothing is been done will will have to leave and if i do leave here thing will be very bad.

Thank you
Hassan
Customer :
This is the email from the courier in Heathrow
Customer :
What does this mean Ben
Ben Jones :
ok leave it with me, won't be long
Customer :
Thank you Ben
Ben Jones :
I am sorry to have to tell you but this is a scam. Whilst it is unfortunately never possible to state with certainty whether someone is genuine or not unless you have actually met them in person, so called ‘military romance scams’ are very common and rely on the good nature of innocent victims to make a significant income.
The main way to identify such scams is not by tracing the person, which would often be impossible, but by looking at the overall situation and identifying certain red flags or other known hallmarks. The most common ones are:
1. You have met this person online, usually through a dating website, social networking service or instant messaging.
2. They will state that they are a serving soldier with the Army and are currently based abroad, usually undertaking frontline duties.
3. They will ‘trick’ you into developing feelings for them. They may have struck a long-distance relationship with you, they are very pleasant and romantic, some even fall in love straight away. They may take time to gain your trust, although often the relationship progresses unnaturally fast.
4. They may use a photo of a soldier, although these can easily be obtained over the internet so there is absolutely no guarantee that this is the person you have been talking to. You can actually try and trace the photo to see if it has been used elsewhere by using Google’s ‘Search by Image’ facility:http://www.google.com/insidesearch/searchbyimage.html
5. They will always use a free email address that is not affiliated to the army. It may look like it's genuine but it won't be. If they are in the US Army then they will have an email that ends with "us.army.mil". You can request that they provide you with that address, but often they will refuse to do so, citing various reasons.
6. The scam in this case is the consignment he has supposedly sent. You are tempted to receive it due to your relationship and the large amount of money that it contains. However, you are asked to pay extortionate fees to receive it. Once you pay the fees, there will be further excuses or even requests for more money, before this person finally disappears. There is no package, there is no courier and sadly, there is no marriage because the person on the other end is a fraudster.
7. Finally, they request that the payment is made via some dubious money transfer method, with little or no fraud protection, such as Western Union, Moneygram, etc.
If the above looks familiar, chances are that the person you are involved with is a fraudster and you need to proceed with extreme caution. I strongly suggest you follow these steps:
1. First of all, cease all contact with the person
2. Do not send anything. If you have already sent money – try to see if you can cancel the transfer
If you wish to report this scam, you can contact Consumer Direct by email:scams@oft.gsi.gov.uk or by phone: 08454 04 05 06. You can also contact Action Fraud on 0300 XXX XXXX or you may also report this to your local police station as they are capable of dealing with scam reports, although only do the latter if you have actually lost money.
Customer :
Ben I have the personson Army records anbd his photograph, his email, his son's email as well
Ben Jones :
that means nothing at all, anyone can fake these
Customer :
the email address I have for him is brysmith211:@hotmail.com
Ben Jones :
this is not an army email, it is a free email address that anyone can get in a couple of minutes
Customer :
The money was paid in Ghana and I actually have a receipt for it. If you give me your email address I will send it to you.
Ben Jones :
that is unnecessary and even confirms that this is a scam as most originate from Ghana or Nigeria
Customer :
I paid £2,300. in Ghana
Customer :
What about the son
Customer :
His son aged 11 has been in contact with me
Ben Jones :
What contact - phone, video?
Customer :
His son is only aged 11 years old
Customer :
I have skyped with the soldier. with the son I have written to in a US School. I have his army certificate discharging him from the army
Customer :
I don't have any phone contact
Ben Jones :
the contacts you have corresponded with are likely fake - this is easy to do. The certificates are also fake, I have seen all sorts of fake documents
Customer :
Ben what can I do. I really love the soldier
Ben Jones :
do not get fooled, the further you carry on the more difficult it will get to accept this is a scam. You have to try your best to accept the situation and move on
Customer :
Will I be able to contact you again
Ben Jones :
yes of course just start your question with 'for Ben Jones only'
Customer :
OK I will do that later on. Will I be able to save this document
Ben Jones :
I suggest you simply copy and paste this conversation into a Word document. You can then save it or print it and refer to it in the future as necessary.
Customer :
I do I save the the conversation, If I do Control the whole fo this page is highlighted
Customer :
How do I save the conversation in a word document
Ben Jones :
just click and hold the left mouse button and select everything in this conversation
Customer :
I am on a laptop and dont have a mouse I can see Save & Exit at ther bottom of the page buts thats all. I cannot see Copy and Save
Ben Jones :
you can just do that - it will be saved on your account here
Customer :
Will I be able to access the conversation then
Ben Jones :
yes
Customer :
So when go into your webpage. what do I do to access my account please
Ben Jones :
go to My Account on the top
Customer :
OK then do I just put in my account no?
Ben Jones :
whatever information you have been given yes
Customer :
Then this conversation will come up yes
Ben Jones :
yes
Customer :
Thank you so much for all your help I do appreciate it. Work colleagues kept telling me it was a scam but I would not believe them. Now that I have spoken with you I feel much better.
Customer :
Thank you so much for all yor help. I will talk to you again soon. Once again many thanks Ben
Ben Jones :
My pleasure. Unless you need further help, I would be grateful if you could please press Accept before exiting. Many thanks and all the best.
Customer :
Ben before you go. Will I have to go to jail
Ben Jones :
Of course not!
Customer :
Thank you for that I did not want to go to jail I can assure you
Ben Jones :
it is just a ploy to scare you into paying
Customer :
Thank goodness for that he said he and I would go to jail
Ben Jones :
no that is nonsense
Customer :
I now have to repay somebody £2,300. GBP
Ben Jones :
did they lend you the money?
Customer :
Yes they did
Ben Jones :
that is unfortunate but you are unlikely to get that money back I'm afraid
Customer :
I do have a receipt for that amont of money would you like me to email that to you?
Ben Jones :
no thanks, that is irrelevant, if you sent it voluntarily then you are unlikely to ever get it back in the circumstances
Customer :
I did sent the money under duress
Ben Jones :
no they won't consider that I'm afraid
Customer :
Never mind I will have to keep on working. He promised me everything. His son as well I cannot believe this has happened to me
Ben Jones :
you are not the only one that's for sure.
Customer :
Obviously not I'm sorry to have bothered you but thank you for your time. Its much appreciated. When the soldier contact me again I will let him know exactly what he has done and see if he contacts me again
Ben Jones :
no problem, all the best for now
Customer :
Many thanks
Ben Jones :
ok no problem
Customer :
Ben
Customer :
Can you please tell me what will happen to him he keep talking of shame
Customer :
The soldier is still in contact me with but he says when they open the parcel and find his papers he will be shamed and go to jail. Is that true
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Customer :
Can my husband go to jail for this please tell me
Customer :
Please help me Ben
Ben Jones :
No this is all nonsense - do not believe his stories
Customer :
Hi Ben my soldier still love me can he go to Jail for sending the parcel to me as his army papers are in the parcel which will have to be opened at Heathrow. He says he will be shamed. What does that mean Ben please?
Customer :
Does not mean he will not go to jail. His last working day was 23rd April but because he got shot he has to stay in Afghanistan till he is better. What will happend to the 3 million US $
Ben Jones :
he will NOT go to jail - he is not even a soldier! There is NO $3m
Customer :
When he is better will he be free to come to the UK and collect me and take me to the US
Ben Jones :
this is a SCAM
Customer :
Are you saying he will not come to the UK to collect me
Ben Jones :
No, I am afraid not - we have already discussed this in detail
Customer :
I have relayed this conversation to him. He assures me he is a wounded soldier in Afghanistan
Ben Jones :
of course he would, he is not just going to admit it, they all do that
Customer :
OK Ben thank you. I am very sorry to have bothered you.
Customer :
Thank you for everything
Ben Jones :
It is no problem, that is why I am here. There is however nothing more I can add to this - this is a typical scam, which I have seen dozens of time before. What you do from now on is up to you but if you continue with this, send money, etc you will lose that money and have your feelings hurt so give up whilst you have not gone too far
Customer :
I will Ben thank you again for your help
Ben Jones :
my pleasure, please remember to click Accept before exiting to close this for now, thanks

Expert Type Consultant
Category:  Fraud Examiner
Pos. Feedback:  97.4 %
Accepts:  1111
Answered:  4/29/2012
Experience: Qualified Lawyer
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