OSI warns Airmen about scams

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christian Sullivan
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Members of the Office of Special Investigations on base have noted a rise in scams targeting Minot Airmen. Paul Shaiyah, commander, AFOSI Detachement 813, went into detail about what the scams are and how to avoid them.

"Over the course of the last year and a half we've seen a series of scams come forward involving our active duty members as victims," Shaiyah said. "The number one thing we've seen is something we call 'sextortion', where members will meet somebody online and that individual that they meet will convince the Air Force member to talk on an application such as Skype or FaceTime, and take part in sexual acts. The scammer then contacts the member pretending to be the parent and threatens to go to authorities unless they are paid a certain amount of money. Our recommendation is to not engage in any acts like that."

Although "sextortion" is the most common scam right now, money scams are rapidly emerging, according to Shaiyah.

"We've seen examples where members will be reached by someone claiming to be a county court and telling the member that they have an outstanding warrant and need to pay them immediately," Shaiyah said. "The other one is the IRS scam where members get contacted by someone being from the IRS and saying that they owe back taxes and they need to  pay up or else."

Although Shaiyah reiterated there is no reason to believe there aren't scams particularly targeting members of the military, he explained most members simply fit into the scammers' planning demographics. 

"Military members fit into the overall demographic of people age 18 to 25 which are the people the scammers  go after," Shaiyah said. "We've yet to see a specific scam developed for military members. In most cases, these are just generic scams. "
The number of people isn't glaring, but there is a decent amount of people that have reported being scammed according to Shaiyah.

"We've had at least 10 cases of 'sextortion' reported at Minot Air Force Base," Shaiyah said. "The more elaborate schemes such as the warrants or IRS scams are less prevalent, as we have only seen a handful of them."

Shaiyah explained there are numerous ways to seek help if Airmen feel they have been or are currently being scammed.

"The biggest thing is looking out for each other and being good wingmen," Shaiyah said. "Come forward when you need help, we're not going to let you get in a position where you'll be taken advantage of. We also recommend going to the legal office, your supervisor, first sergeant or commander if you need help."