Military Romance Scam Photo Check: How to Verify a Service Member's Photos

The US Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FTC have repeatedly warned about romance scams that impersonate deployed military personnel, since deployment provides a built-in excuse for avoiding video calls and in-person meetings. The photos used are frequently stolen from real service members' public social media accounts. A biometric face scan checks the photo against 2.4 billion indexed face embeddings across 200+ platforms, including social media, and will often surface the real account the photo was taken from, under a different name, rank, or unit than what you were told.

What to do

Save a clear photo from the profilePhotos in uniform or with a clearly visible face work well for the scan.
Run a biometric face scanScanErase checks the face across 200+ platforms including major social networks.
Look for the same face under a different name or unitThis is the clearest signal that the photos were taken from a real person's account without their knowledge.
Unlock your full report for $15Review every match with platform, URL, and confidence score.
Report the scamThe Army's Digital and Social Media Division tracks impersonation reports, and the FTC and FBI IC3 handle the financial fraud side.

Common questions

Does the US military ever charge fees for leave, communication, or return from deployment?

No. Any request for money framed as a fee required for a service member's leave, equipment, communication, or return home is a scam indicator recognized by the Department of Defense and the FTC.

Where do I report a suspected military romance scam?

Report the profile to the platform, file a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and if you have lost money, file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. The Army CID also accepts reports of impersonation of its personnel.

Can real deployed service members video call at all?

Many can, depending on their role and location, even if infrequently. A blanket, permanent refusal to ever appear on video, combined with financial requests, is the more significant warning sign than occasional connectivity issues.