Posted on 03/31/2006 5:51:19 PM PST by Aliska
Having developed Anti-Scam program we intend to warn you about phenomenon of International dating scam and will do our best try to help you to avoid scamming. We launch our anti-scam campaign and appeal to all people who are in the sphere of Internet dating and international marriage - Foreign men, Russian women and International marriage agencies - as we ALL suffer from scam. MEN scammed by dishonest women stop to believe that it is possible to find a good, loving Russian wife and quit. Less interested men - less opportunities for honest WOMEN to find the right guy for marriage. Serious AGENCIES that invest money into web-site development, offices, equipment lose their customers and business. We want to create a full and complete database of scammers in one place.
(Excerpt) Read more at anti-scam.org ...
Since I have a love for Russia, and since I had the family photos she had asked to see, I stayed up too late putting some out on my webspace and sent her the links.
Being interested in Russia, I looked up the town, general geographical area, etc. Somehow some red flags went up, and I decided to google her email address. Nothing. Then I googled her name and it came up on the site with the same city and province. There are tons of names on that site. I will not give the name. There is a lot of this type of activity in the city she claims to be from.
My son makes a lot of money and is on the heels of a long romance and marriage gone sour so is somewhat vulnerable. I called him and told him we'd been had. He seemed to take it well as he didn't invest anything emotionally in it yet. The other guy who reported her had sent her money for passport and visa, asked to be sent photocopies of them, and finally realized something was up when she needed more money to come here. They probably take the money and run and do not come here if they are scammers.
I am not the kind of mother who pries into every detail of his life; he has his social life, and I know little about the people or girls he meets because that is probably the way it should be until and unless things get serious.
I thought some people might find it interesting as I'd read other news stories, some work out ok, but here I am writing her and warning her that my son is fickle, didn't want to see her get hurt, hope she enjoyed the pictures, and the joke is on my son and me evidently.
Just wanted to tell people to be careful about who you meet on the net, not that most of us don't already know. Sometimes they aren't even "real" people, use phony photos. The scam is they need money for a passport and visa to come to America, then extra money for the trip, and other variations.
Heaven knows what thugs might await an unwary guy who makes the trip to meet them in person.
My son who is in his thirties, wanted me to take some photos for the net, and I warned him way back about meeting women on the web. It can be dangerous and costly, monetarily and emotionally, for both men and women.
Maybe the scam info website is a scam. They want donations. How can we know anything for sure any more?
If this isn't Freeper worthy miscellaneous news, I apologize and the mods can dispose of it however they wish.
I think your right about your suspicions, but I will point something out, from a man' point of view
"she looked a little sleazy but attractive "
can be seen as a very positive description.
Seems funny that they want money to fight scams when there are other free sites out there that post photos of scammers.
CAVEAT EMPTOR!
This site needs money to keep going. That site does, too, lots of names, discussion forums, etc., and besides, that site was the only one her name came up on.
I'm not sending them any money though :-).
Here's a message board with plenty of photos and descriptions.
http://www.russian-scam.org/message.htm
Wise words. It's a shame to think in terms of buying a product when you are looking for a life partner and "true love".
Wow, good looking chicks
I had my credit card out, then I remembered to read the descriptions
I guess the thing is, there is no free lunch, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean you somehow beat the system, and found a mate straight off the pages of Playboy.
She wants to be here a lot more than he wants to be with her.
OMG!!! I just got a long email from her, haven't read it yet. Now I will have to decide what to do. I definitely think she is up to something because I was looking for her name again to check at the other link (darn Russian names are impossible) and remember one of their tricks is not to give a profile and she explained why she decided to use a subterfuge (my word, not hers) and not put up a profile.
Evidently lots of them use different names, so they could be anywhere.
I don't want to toy with her. I will pray about it, what else can I do?
Couple of really pretty girls on that site, some not so wholesome looking.
Uh, you don't know my son. One look at Russia and he could be on the next plane home.
I don't want to encourage him in any more of this.
"I don't want to toy with her. I will pray about it, what else can I do?"
Post her email here
Not her or your address , obviously, just a good portion of the wording
Would it kill him to see where his bride wants to spend Christmas? I wouldn't encourage him either, but he might decide he's old enough to decide anyway. Be careful, and good luck.
You know my first thought when I started kicking it around in my mind after going through years of agony with him and the way he got burned by his beautiful wife.
She might get homesick, and that would make me feel bad for her. That's what I was worried about.
No, but for one reason only. I'm not 100% positive. The guy who turned her in could have been sour grapes or something and I don't want her to get deluged with hate mail.
Somehow I get the feeling that men might behind some of this, men who help them compose the letters in English, get a cut, etc.
This is a shame for nice Russian women who just want love like most women and a chance at a better life.
That's why I corrected with my second message -NOT email addresses, but potions of the message itself - a search using the exact phrases she uses in her email might turn up other cases where people have gotten burned by letters just like this.
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