10 Things To Watch Out For When Corresponding With A Russian Woman. Part 1

Let me begin by clarifying that what I’m talking about here is how to avoid dating scams, not how to build a relationship with a sincere Russian woman. There are different types of scams and scammers out there, with different goals and techniques. The following 10 warning signs are something you should keep in mind to protect yourself against the classic Visa & Ticket Scam (possible variation: Sick Mama / Kid Needs Surgery). The purpose of the scam is, as you might have guessed, to relieve a man of some cash; the technique is (usually) to attach the man emotionally through letters and photos and then ask for money, either to buy visa & tickets to come to him or to help with surgery costs. Needless to say, the girl disappears after the money for visa and tickets is wired to her.

This brings us to Warning Sign One:

#1. Money talk. One of the axioms of this Russian dating game is, Money Request = Scam. No decent, self-respecting Russian woman will ask you for money, especially if you haven’t yet met in person – period. Therefore, if you receive a letter from the Russian girl you are writing to where she asks you for money (be that to buy a computer, help with the Internet costs, surgery, or visa & tickets), it is time to say good-bye.

Money requests for visa & tickets are often accompanied by fake visas, with her name and picture on it – to prove that she already has her visa, for which she has used up her savings and/or borrowed money to pay; now she only needs some more cash for the ticket, and she’ll be on the plane, heading your way, (ha, ha.)

A bad scammer will send the money request soon enough (Quick Scam), a good one will put some more work into it (Slow Scam). The correspondence can go on for 2-3 months without the request being made, at least not directly. Watch out for hints being dropped – general poverty, financial difficulties, low wages, loss of the job, stolen purse, high Internet costs, broken computer, burglary, etc., etc.

A good scammer will mention something like this and wait for you to offer help. If you don’t, they will let it go – for a time. Some may even refuse small help (Internet costs) in order to ask for more later (tickets, surgery).