Instagram Love gone Array

by Bubbles
(Oak Park, Ca, USA)

Unfortunately, I fell victim to the world's famous military romance scams. Luckily I wasn't affected other than in emotional damage, but it's recent, so hopefully, I won't come out unscathed.

"Denny" found me on Memorial Day through Instagram. I find it fitting he chose that day during this pandemic Coronavirus to start his romancing. I was tequila deep and busy watching movies when I got bored and went picture surfing on the media site. He found me. I accepted his friend request and we got to talking.

"Denny" had been very well versed in English although he had a tough time with American slang such as "#, GF". He knew what to say and how to say it. He knew from my photos that I am a single parent and after venturing, asked about my life via photos. Being tequila-out I was whatever about conversing with him. Finally, by the end of the night, he asked me if I had Whatsapp. I told him no. He told me I should get it since he's never on Instagram.

Mind you, he had plenty of photos and followers to seem real.

I, of course, downloaded Whatsapp and we continued to talk well into the night.

"Denny" claimed to be stationed in Turkey, but couldn't call me or facetime because he's not supposed to have a phone. I told him that's fine because I share a phone with my son. Half the time my kid has my phone, especially when he's venturing the neighborhood.

"Denny" claimed he had a son, also. That his ex-wife cheated on him while he was deployed--makes sense--and that his son is with a nanny in Florida--Okay. He then told me his mother passed away during his deployment (2016) and his father was in Ukraine. In my head, sure fine. That seems plausible.

I continued to tell him about my situation with my sons father and my parents. Told him about recently moving and how hard it is with the virus and the state keeping everyone on lockdown and then riots and protests started which made everything that much harder. To which he told me he knew it was hard and asked how I faired.

Another week passed and he starts the love talk. Granted, I have been a single parent, a single woman for as long as my son has been alive. In my drunk state, he found that out. Whatever. He used that to his advantage. "Denny" asked and asked why I chose to remain single, why I never wanted to find someone. So I told him. He then gave the sweet talk about returning from deployment and making me an honest woman. He talked about his son, how he was going to return to his son, then come visit me and we could try and make things work out. He never once forced it, just played it off that we could and should try. California and Florida were similar, he said. His son needed a real mother, he said. I looked like a nice woman with my son, he said.

He asked for my address. I didn't think anything of it. An address is an address, right? Ugh. He sent really cheap-ass rings to me. Mind you, they don't even fit my sausage fingers LOL. He tells me to keep them. He wants to see photos of them every chance I can make. I actually hid them and honestly don't know where they disappeared too

Another week goes by and suddenly he gets upset that I told my best friend about him. He cools off and I told him sorry, then he says to be careful because he could be fired and that He really loves his job. He's a specialist after all stationed in Turkey. The kind of specialist that commands an entire squad and protects them via disabling bombs. He said that no one knew that he had a phone and he was communicating with someone from the states. He said since he was on a mission, it wasn't allowed. I asked a few friends about that since they served in the military and they confirmed that once on mission phones were not allowed. Everything "Denny" talked about seemed plausible.

At one point he asked for a gamer card. I told him no, I can't send money because Hey, I'm a struggling single parent. He told me that's fine and that he didn't want to make things hard for me. A few days go by, he asks the same question and once again I tell him no. He doesn't get angry, he just gets disappointed. He then proceeds to tell me about his past, how his ex screwed him over, and how he misses his son that lives with the nanny, and how he wishes his mom was around. Everything he says sounds legit.

It gets closer to a month and we're still talking, still going through the dance steps. He asks about my day and about how my kid is doing and I give it all to him. He stopped asking about money but complains all the time that deployment sucks. He sends me photos that seem legit, they match with his Instagram and people are eating it up like candy. The one friend I did tell starts to worry.

Now it's a month later. Things start to heat up. He really needs money. He needs to find out when his deployment is over. He's been over there since January. But oh wait, his Instagram started May. The virus has kept them too long overseas. But oh wait, no one in Turkey has the virus so he didn't understand.

I've googled Turkey and American soldiers and ask him how the war is and if he's worried they're going to be staying to aid our allies. He tells me there's no war and not to worry. I ask about the current situation with Russia and then Taliban and once again he says he doesn't understand what I'm talking about. I start to go through Instagram, through hashtags of his photos, and followers and uncover the same profile following "denny"

I uncover the solid truth.

There's literally more than one profile and "denny" is not "denny". The soldier he started posing as has been Honorably discharged in 2017. The soldier he has been posing as is living an honest life in another state with friends and his family (A large ass family where everyone's alive and there is no child). So I blew up on Denny.

Denny gives me a sob story and gives me, a kid you not, a really good explanation to the other profiles. I let a few days go by, I struggle with work and I struggle with finances, and all of a sudden he's mad that I can't send him a gamer card. He's mad that my attitude changed and I'm no longer the same woman that allows him to smile every morning. And there had been a routine. My morning was his evening so we would talk. My afternoon was midnight, so we would talk and my evening was his early morning. It seemed legit for Turkey and California time.

Anyway, He really wants to keep talking to me. He's scared to lose me. He found happiness in our talks and our love. And he constantly, constantly asks about my son but never gives me feedback on his son.

I've talked to this fool for a little over a month. Sent zero money, only pictures, and words, and he starts to get agitated. I can feel it. I proceeded to search the real "denny" and find him on Facebook. I don't tell my Whatsapp friend. I do connect to the true soldier and inform him of what's happened.

Let's just say the end story is, after telling the real soldier that his identity was compromised he's upset. I told "denny" that I can no longer talk with him and as upset as he was, he very quickly changed names and I'm sure eventually photos on the Instagram account.

Accounts: DC_Denny1, DDDenny1, Cy_Denny Denny Cosby

Fake Name: Denny William Cosby, claims to have a child and an ex-wife. Claims that his mother is dead and his father lives in Ukraine. Claims to have a brother in India working as an engineer. Claims his Mexican wife is a drug addict and moved to Missouri and yet his child, which he sent a legit photo was so very, very white. I later found out that photo was the real soldier's little brother, who is now an adult

I am withholding the real soldiers name in hopes this alias dies out. After much talk, i found out the real Cosby is a very kind man with a large family whom he loves and protects and has served for four years in Iraq. He apologized to me and hoped no one else falls victim.