I am really new to this forum, but have already learned lots of valuable information, thanks ...
My question
Are there any mechenisms in plae to avoid "SCAM" woman and or sites? I got BIG scammed about 3 months ago, but I blam no one but myself, but if we are all here for the same end result, wouldn't it makes sense to protect ourselves?
... Maybe a list of ladies to "stay way" from? know this may be tough, seeing they can alter their names, but a picture would be tought to alter, right?
Hey Mike, I've only been on the site a few weeks but have been passed on valued info from the Forum guys. First and foremost, don't send them money. That has been the repeated theme since I've been on the site. If they are really, really interested in you they won't be asking for money. I just stopped writing a girl from Cheboksary for that very reason. She was really sweet in her e-mails and then started hitting me up for money because her purse got stolen. I almost sent her some money, but listened to the forum dudes first. It's easy to get caught up in the moment with these Russian beauties.....I almost did. So, check with the forum first, before you leap! Late, Socalboy
mman, welcome on board! There are scammers' lists around the net, some are reliable, some are not. Generally those lists that require some sort of proof from those who report scammers are the most reliable. Some people get pissed because a girl does not show interest and report these women as scammers out of spite. So, proof is important. Type something like "russian dating scammers", "russian dating scam" in a search engine.
However, regarding the pictures, some women don't even use their own pictures, they use models' pictures.
As socalboy said above, the best way to avoid scams is to use your judgement and it's really not rocket science after a while you'll be able to spot them like flies in a glass of milk.
Great info, and I got all the information I needed from the US Embassy in Moscow, but unfortunately it as to late, but I guesses it will go down as a "lessened learned" I am looking forward to my new endeavors here, so far things look very promising ...
Just something to start with :)
I found the girl I believed in at not one but 4 of these sites... The scamartist Anna Kolesnikova... Keep away from her..
If it doesn't hurt your pride or self steem too much it would be helpful if you posted the details of the scam by which you got taken.
Others (and you know who are you are!!) are still on the fence about sending money to their sweethearts and can learn from it.
I was approached by this (supposed) russian woman Nadya, and we sent many many e-mails back and forth, and believe me he/she was VERY GOOD, at what they did. They definitely had all their duck in a row, and had an answer for everything. I ended up sending cash for a ticket ($600), and then she said she needed another $300 fro VISA's. I think they started getting to greedy, because then they asked for a "special" Terrorism Tax, which set off all kinds of bells and buzzers. At this point I got a fellow russian colleague involved, and he was very very skeptical, and even helped me research this. I finally sent an e-mail to the US Embassy in Moscow, that is when they told me it was a scam.
The woman's name was Nadeshda Timofeeva, Arsk City Tatarstan republic, Street Kirova 9-2
I threatened to file with FBI, but it would of been way to embarrassing because the local authorities would of got involved, and I live in a small town
Keep in mind than in most cases, the scammers rarely use their own names.
Nadya Timofeeva could easily be a 2nd grade school student or a grandmother of 10 adult children for all you or we know.
She could also be the 27 year old single, lovable, honest, attractive woman we all would like to meet and who has no idea her name, address and identity has been used to scam the likes of you and other western men.
What happened to you is another reason why the "DO NOT SEND MONEY TO SOMEONE YOU HAVE NOT MET IN REAL LIFE" slogan will never be outdated or become an overly beaten dead horse.
If this might make you feel better, two months ago, there was the story of an Australian guy who was scammed $7K by an FSU woman and subsequently this guy sent a letter addressed to Putin saying that he doesn't care she scammed him but at least he wants her to be taxed for that money :)
Yeah...I remember it.
I'm still wondering how Putin could have taken time off from his TYCO shenannigans to help one scammed foreigner.
But he did and it worked out pretty well in that ONE case.
The problem, however, is that from the FSU side this events are seen as idiocy on the part of the western men not only by the perpetrators, but also by the local authorities that do little or nothing to investigate and punish these crimes.
Oh well...live and learn.
The problem with scan lists is that scamming is an easy-in and easy-out type of operation. All a scammer has to do is come up with a few letters - be fairly adept at English and find some gorgeous Russian model's photos (a model unknown in the west).
He (or she) can start mailing and taking in money before any scam list identifies them. When people start catching on and reporting him(her) to a scam list - he simply takes on a fast new identity.
Checking scam lists can give a persona a flase sense of security. If she is on there you KNOW to avoid her. But is she isn't it is certainly no indication that you aren't being scammed by a new identity.
In the US the gov. has started to monitor some of the sites for money transfers in conjuction with the homeland sec. if they see suspected unusual transfers of cash to the FSU or other places they get with the recieving country and check it out. The days of the easy scam may be comming to an end.
People will find new, more sophisticated ways to scam other people. Have you heard about the conning of old people in the US by Canadian residents who call and convince the elderly to send them money to participate in fake investment opportunities? We're talking about a multimillion dollar industry. It's hard to believe that people would send money to a nice voice over the phone, but they do! Both Canadian conmen and FSU scammers find their victims among people who have a weakness in the sort of a dream (some with the dream of becoming millionaires quickly, others with the dream of a young, beautiful girlfriend). People do crazy things in the hope of realizing their dream. As awareness spreads, expect FSU scams to become more and more sophisticated in the future.