Romance scams are hot and it's not about love — it's about money.
In a military romance scam, the bad guy frequently adopts the online persona of an actual soldier, a romantic figure to some. Scammers operate on all social media sites like Facebook and Quora, or dating and chat sites, studying their marks and learning what they like.
Although such scams can happen in real life, it's much easier online, where scammers can steal photos of real soldiers, learn about experiences to repeat, and have the convenient excuse of being deployed.
Widows and recently divorced women in their 40s and 50s are the most frequent targets for scammers to love bomb and entertain with frequent emails and photos.
Anytime an online acquaintance asks for money, it is a bad sign. Requests for money for food, housing, plane tickets, leave requests, early retirement, medical treatment or impoverished loved ones are nearly always scam requests. The military provides all of those things, except money for impoverished loved ones.