"Steve Coffman, of Tempe, Arizona, gave his heart -- and $2,000 -- to a Russian Web sweetheart."
Posted on 04/16/2005 9:15:48 AM PDT by srm913
He says his job as a Moscow gumshoe is right out of the movies. His name is Vladimir, an undercover detective hunting down Russian women who bill themselves online as brides. As CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras reports, their prey is American men.
"They suck out $3,000 to $5,000, then simply disappear," he says.
"It's become almost like an industry," says Russian detective Elena Garrett.
Garrett is Vladimir's boss back here in the United States. A Russian bride herself, she now helps clients find out if their online love is real or an Internet phantom.
"He gives us her name, age and everything, and we come back in three days and we say, 'There is no such girl,'" says Garret. "Such girl does not exist."
The scams often originate in Russia's Internet cafes, enticing men with photos and letters - eventually asking for money to help with visas and airline tickets. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow hears from the jilted every day.
"I'm a little surprised at the sheer volume - three to four a day is pretty significant and you have to bear in mind that we're probably not receiving all of the complaints," says James Pettit, the U.S. Consul General in Moscow.
The State Department calls these "Boris and Natasha" scams: a lonely bachelor - say here in Arizona - thinks he's romancing "Natasha," falling in love, but it turns out "Natasha" is really "Boris."
In Tempe, Arizona, Steve Coffman believed he was approached by a woman on an Internet dating service.
One of the amorous e-mails sent to him read: "I feel you Steve, we are one in heart, spirit, soul mates."
"I was pinching myself to see if I was awake or if this was a dream, you know," says Coffman.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
You can't cheat an honest man.
But I'm getting sort of T-Oed, she won't send me a full body shot...
Rats! Just when I saved enough to buy one...
The Nigerian Scam of Love.
Don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
Someone has to go and ruin everything.
Natasha the No-goodnik
The was a movie made about this subject starring Nicole Kidman. The Russkies will cleverly defraud the whole world and laugh all the way back to Moscow.
And American women suck out half of everything you own, take your kids, your house, your car, and disappear and you have to pay them every month for the privilege.
"You can't cheat an honest man."
You can if he's lonely enough.
If I should outlive my wife, I'm entering a monastery.
Actually, it sounds sort of cheap at this price. ;)
That should go without saying and many "reputable" agencies will warn you against this.
I'm marrying a Ukrainian. I met her in person overseas so fortunately I did not need to use such a service. While researching issues facing marriage to Eastern European women on the internet, I was surprised at how many "Russian Brides" sites there are.
While some of these are scams, many are very real. Russian women outnumber men something like 135 to 100 and many of the men are unemployed, chronic alcoholics who believe that they are entitled to mistresses. Women are treated poorly by their men.
I've met many Russian/Ukrainian/Eastern European women and I am always amazed at how attractive and appealing they are.
So you ordered a mail-order bride? or are you being sarcastic?
About 2 years ago a good friend of mine married a Russian he met thru an internet international org. Altho I have had very little contact with him he is still married so I guess it worked out ok for him....
That's a hard choice to make. Do I want to go for short term heartache or long term slavery and heartache? I think I'll just keep it in my pants.
bump for later
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