The best way to avoid losing your hard-earned money to a fraudulent scheme is to become an educated consumer. The first thing to remember is that con artists understand and exploit human psychology. They know that most people are friendly and will behave in predictable ways when they meet new people. The con artist takes that knowledge and uses friendliness and predictability against people. Members of the Armed Forces present a particularly inviting target for some con artists.
Service members have a steady income, they often lack business savvy and are far from home.
Using this knowledge, some of the most successful scams involve setting up what appears to be a casual meeting in a public place and then establishing a pretext for a later meeting in your home. In a recent scheme, two attractive women sought out male service members who were out alone or in small groups near a military base. The women approached the men, made small talk for a while and then asked them for a date. If the offer was accepted, the women arranged to come over to the member's apartment later. At this point, the service members could have become suspicious and backed out of the situation.