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Well that's a shame, but I'm really not surprised. I'm sure the number doesn't include the internet posers.
Don Shipley spends much of his time identifying and confronting men who claim to have served among the military's most elite. Shipley told ABC News that he even before the Abbottabad raid he was finding as many as 20 fakers a day who attempt ed in some way to portray themselves as former Navy SEALs. But since the SEALs' role in bin Laden's death has been made public, the group has taken on an even more exclusive significance, and the number of phony SEALs has soared.
"Oh god, it has skyrocketed," said Shipley. "I can't even keep up with the amount of fraudulent claims and phony SEALs. Guys who haven't ever considered doing this are coming out of the woodwork, and we're nailing them as fast as we can."
Shipley said he had dealt with 15 to 20 phony SEALs a day before May 1, and the number has probably doubled since. He added that it's not unusual to find members of the clergy pretending to be former SEALs. "It's something with these guys who are in a position of trust that causes a lot of them to do it," he said. "The fact that they are in a position where whatever comes out of their mouth is believed -- I think that causes some of them to take advantage." Read more