General John F. Campbell has a lot on his plate as the highest ranking officer in Afghanistan, however, in recent years he has had more to deal with because he has become somewhat of a darling of scammers who use his name for a large range of scams including romance scams and Nigerian letter type scams where you are recruited into an easy money business venture only to learn the hard way that you are required to continually pay more and more to get the large payout that never comes.  Here is a copy of an email scam using his name that I recently received.

“Hello dear friend,
I’m U.S. Army General by name (Gen. John F. Campbell). I am currentlysaving as the Commander, International Security Assistance Force andUnited States Forces in Afghanistan on August 26, 2014. However, I really want to establish a true relationship that may lead into abusiness partner after resigned from my job. I saw your email through my searching from internet and I pick interest to know you better for mutual interest, please let continue our conversation through my
private email box.  Click the link below to know more about me. http://www.rs.nato.int/about-isaf/leadership/general-john-f.-campbell.html Thanks and regards. Contact me at my private Email address: GeneraljohnCampbell2015@gmail.com
Gen. John F. Campbell”

Of course, this email is a scam and is just a lure to entice you into sending money in return for a promised return that will never happen.  The fact that I got this email that didn’t even use my name in the salutation is one indication that the email is a scam.  Another is that the email address from which it was sent had no relation to General Campbell.

General Campbell’s staff found more than 700 fake profiles for him on social media, many of them on dating sites attempting to lure people into a romance scam in which they will be pressed for money.  On his real social media account, General Campbell even wrote, “I am happily married and my wife Ann is very much alive and my children do not need money for any medical procedures.  I do not use any dating sites, Skype, google plus, yahoo messenger or any other account.”

TIPS

Whenever you get an email, a text message or a phone call, you can never be sure that the person communicating with you is who they say they are.  Even if Caller ID or the email address appears to be legitimate, those can be manipulated to appear legitimate when they are not.  In the case of this particular letter, the fact that the email address from which it was sent was definitely not one connected to General Campbell was an immediate indication that this was a scam.  You should always ask yourself if you receive such a communication why you were singled out.  The answer is that you were not.  You are just one of many people receiving the same email, call or text message that is intended to appeal to whatever it takes to lure you into sending money.   Don’t be a victim.