Russian Dating Scams

As soon as you start searching a partner through the web you are sure to encounter scammers, especially Russian and Ukrainian ones. It may even seem to you that they are practically everywhere.

Yes, there are many of them but it is not difficult to avoid this annoying obstacle. I should say they are easily avoidable. Just arm yourself with common sense and a little guidance which you can find in this article. So many men spend too much time determining the following problem is the woman they are corresponding with “real” or are they being cheated? It prevents them from taking a decisive step to make a trip to Russia or Ukraine and meet real women there.

Here is an advice on how to figure out possible dating scams:

You are more likely to meet “unreal” ladies on the sites that offer the services that are called “pay-per-letter”. Such a lady may really exist, she may use her real name, photos and location but she is writing letters to you to earn money. How does she earn money? The agency shares with her the money you pay for the letters. You may be sure of it if she is not in a hurry to meet you.

You received an email to your email address from a lady though you had never written to her. Now then, the woman is not real for sure.

You are in your late fifties, weigh more than 100 kg, not a sporty type, earn $25K a year or so, and a gorgeous lady who is in her twenties is eager to see you in person saying she is in love with you. This girl is not “real” either.

So, switch on your common sense. It will stand you in good stead.

Avoiding Scams

In order to help you avoid Russian dating scams we’ll describe different categories of them and how they act. Besides, we hope that the following simple guidelines will be of great use:

Exploit only the sites with a good reputation.

Watch your money. The aim of all Russian scammers is to trick you out of money.

There are two categories of dating scams among the Russians. Roughly speaking, about 90% of all dating scams from Russia belong to these categories.

Direct/Email Scams

Direct scams act through email.

There are sites that offer a direct connection for their members, i.e. the possibility to communicate with each other via email without any intermediaries. On such sites the possibility of encountering “Email Scams” is very high. You are corresponding with a “lady” who may not even exist. The scammers are not necessarily women. They use someone else’s pictures, enter a dialog and make attempts to get cash from their victims under this or that pretence. For example, “she” wants to visit you and asks for money to buy an airline ticket.

You yourself may write such a “girl” on a dating site or “she” contacts you either on a site or writes to your email explaining that she saw your profile (without identifying where).

This category of dating scams is recognized very easily.

Marriage Agency Scams

Be ready to encounter another category of Russian dating scams if you search for a proper woman with the help of marriage agencies. Such agencies or an agency network often look like big dating websites. Are you supposed to pay for all your messages and for the girl’s replies (pay-per-letter services)? Then you are dealing with one of such scams.

Here two scenarios are possible either the agency writes letters in the name of the woman who knows nothing about it or the woman herself communicates with you, but she is paid for this “job”. She will earn more if you write more often and for a longer period of time, so she tries to keep you writing as long as possible.

When you do come to meet the girl, she may insist on your using the services of the agency she belongs to. The services include transport, interpreters, apartment, etc.

You may wonder where the scam is if you are met at the airport and taken in a car to an apartment, if a translator is provided for your dates with a real girl. The problem is that the girl is not in the least interested in you. She is earning money.

Non-Scams

There are conducts that are not qualified as scams but men may have a feeling of being scammed.

Any woman may be labeled as a scammer if she is not willing to cooperate fully. Men often invite Russian woman to join them for a vacation at their expense. The woman accepts the invitation but subsequently loses interest in the man. In this case the man feels scammed.

Here is one more example. The woman accepts gifts but later refuses the man sex and gets the label of a scammer.

Even a woman who marries a guy from America and becomes a full citizen is accused of being a scammer as soon as she wants to get a divorce. It is considered that a marriage to an American is a chance to get American citizenship. But what if she is unhappy in her marriage and it is her husband’s fault, at least partly?

Here it would be appropriate to define the word “scam”. A “scam” means a deliberate deception in order to gain financial profit.

Speaking of non-scams we can’t but mention “Gold Diggers”. Foreigners tend to think that Americans are all rich. No wonder some Russian women may have high expectations. It cannot be considered a scam. If you can’t afford (or don’t want) big spending, just avoid such girls.

Note that because of cultural and political differences American and Russian people view money differently. Very few Russian women have to pay any taxes (income, property, etc.) or for car repairs, for instance, as they have no cars. They don’t know that the situation is different in America and are offended if you don’t come to visit them more often or if you don’t bring expensive gifts each time.

The awareness of these differences will help prevent misunderstanding.