Stolen Valor, Stolen Hearts: Military Romance Scam

Published: Aug. 23, 2019, 4:01 a.m.

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After 26 years of service, U.S. Army Col. Bryan Denny retires from an incredible career in the military and begins to receive odd messages. They\\u2019re coming from women around the world who claim to be in online relationships with him. But Bryan isn\\u2019t on any dating sites. Meanwhile Kathy Walters is learning about the online boyfriend of her friend Sharon. They plan to marry, but Sharon has never met the man in person because he claims to be in the military stationed overseas. Sharon shows Kathy a picture of the man she knows as Ross, but the name on his uniform reads Bryan Denny. Unsure if her friend is in a real romance or caught up in romance scam, Kathy begins to investigate. She heads to Facebook, and what she finds is shocking. The same picture Kathy\\u2019s friend has fallen in love with is featured in multiple profiles across the internet under a wide variety of names. That\\u2019s when Kathy knows she needs to track down the real Bryan Denny. After some digging, Kathy is able to locate him and reaches out to see if Bryan has any knowledge of what\\u2019s going on. Bryan has been fielding calls, emails and sometimes in-person visits from women who\\u2019ve fallen in love with his picture. Together, Bryan and Kathy uncover hundreds of fraudulent social media and dating site accounts that are using Bryan\\u2019s image, as well as images of his family members, to entice women into romance scams. Disgusted by what they\\u2019ve found, Kathy and Bryan decide to fight back against these scammers.

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