3

Is it a scam ?

Talking to a female person in the army, she was deported to Africa (which of course red flags came up). She told me her mother can't because she doesn't feel good so her commander is going to send money to my empty account which she wanted username, password, routing number, checking account number, and security question/answers.

She tells me it's not a scam and she has been scammed in the past on Facebook for winning 100,000 and then she deleted her account. What makes it even more weird is that every time I talk to her she mentions if the debit card will come in the mail. I have not spoken to her on the phone yet and she isn't allowed to speak unless she gets permission to use the phone from her commander.

Note: Supposedly she is In the Air Force she just got deported to Africa about a week ago.

Brythan
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James
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7 Answers7

29

Some additional information for the people who may read this question in the future:

The situation is weird, to say the least. I'm going to assume 2 things:

  1. You two (you and the person who contacted you) don't know each other.
  2. You have only talked via e-mail, not voice.

Now, look at these classic it's-a-scam red flags:

  1. Random person contacts you.
  2. They want to do something with your bank account.
  3. They won't give out details about them, but will request/demand all sorts of personal/private details from you.
  4. They are in trouble. Or it's urgent. They want you to act fast (haste makes waste).
  5. Yet they can still communicate with you via internet/phone.

In these conditions, it is not safe to give even the smallest shred of information to such people.

I'd advise you to ignore this person (best option), or offer to get them in touch with an official (most scammers will run away at this point), or threaten to report them (not recommended, the scammer may take insult and try to "get back at you").

Hope this post helps and nobody gets scammed!

EDIT: Thank you for the amazing welcome! If I'd have known I'd get such a huge response, I'd have written a better answer ;) (I hope I'm not breaking any rules by this edit)

JYelton
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fraglord
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24

Yes. It is a scam.

The story makes no sense. They just want your info to steal your money.

Regarding requests to know how it works:

The scammer is requesting:

username, password, routing number, checking account number, and security question/answers.

They now have access to your bank account. They will have access until you are able to shut it down. Once they have your password, they can change it to whatever they want.

It can be used to launder money, steal money from other accounts you have, proof of identity...

JYelton
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mhoran_psprep
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16

Unprintable, yes, it's a scam. Nobody will ever have any legitimate reason to run money through your account. Period.

keshlam
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Yes this is a scam. Stay as far away as possible. Don't talk or send any messages. The more you talk, she would convince you that this is not a scam.

Armed Forces have a very good way of taking care of their people. They don't need to do something like this.

Dheer
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8

There are lots of red flags here that point to an obvious scam.

First, no one, not even people close to you, ever have a valid reason to get your password or security questions. EVER. The first thing they will do is clean out the account you gave them. The second thing they will do is clean out any account of yours that uses the same password.

Second, no one ever needs to run money through your account for any reason. If its not your money, don't take it.

Third, this person is in the army but was deported to Africa (not to any particular country, just Africa), and is still in the army? This doesn't really make sense at all.

This is a blatant obvious scam.

David says Reinstate Monica
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6

Age old rules about money scams:

  1. If a person A wants to send money to person B, they do the following: Person A sends money to person B. Neither of them sends money to you, and you don't send money to either of them. It doesn't make sense!

  2. If you give someone money, be prepared that you might not receive that money back. If someone gives you money, be prepared that they can get that money back.

  3. Illegal money laundering can put you in jail, even if you pretend to be a blameless victim of a scammer.

Peter
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Yes. It is a scam, and here is how it will work.

They will deposit a phony check into the account which will appear to clear. You will send money to Africa from the account. The check will take a while to bounce, but it will bounce. They will take it back out of your account (and may try to prosecute you for a fake check). At best, your account balance will go negative and you will owe the money back to the bank that you sent. The people you sent the money to will vanish.

JohnFx
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