Dating app scammer cons former US army colonel into leaking national secrets

A retired U.S. Army colonel working at U.S. Strategic Command admitted he provided classified 'SECRET' national defense information to a contact met on a foreign dating app between Feb–Apr 2022; prosecutors allege the contact—presented as a Ukrainian woman and possibly acting for a foreign state actor—leveraged a romance-scam style relationship to elicit secrets. The colonel pleaded guilty to conspiracy, faces up to ten years but the government will recommend 5–7 years at sentencing, and the article uses the case to highlight risks from romance scams and social-engineering targeting.