Picture this:  Striking a pose can cause military woes!

Veterans Day is a time to honor those who serve our country.  Imagine a young person far from home in hostile territory. Some turn to technology hoping to make a connection with a friendly face while others become pen pals with people back home. The correspondence continues, pictures are exchanged, and budding friendships ease the loneliness of being away from home.  A picture might be worth a thousand words, but is it worth thousands of dollars when you’ve never met the person?

Unbeknownst to many, scammers take full advantage of military members by concocting stories of desperate need, financial woes, and even profess feelings of love in an attempt to line their wallets with the hard-earned money of service members stationed in faraway places. Pleas for airfare, food, and living expenses are carefully crafted to elicit funds that are sent via wire transfers or mailed to PO boxes. Once received, there is no way to track the money and no friends to be found.  Email addresses are deleted, PO boxes are closed, and the con artists pop up somewhere else playing the same game.

Some cautionary steps would be to check a person’s name and address on a search engine. Sites like www.zabasearch.com give some preliminary information on people and other sites offer background checks. Seeing isn’t always believing, especially when it’s an image on a computer screen. A few precautions can make the difference between making a real friend and being taken by a scheming foe.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL WHO SERVE AND HAVE SERVED!