I need to drop in and say that I have been on some of the minor sites around the net but mostly AFA. I knew there had to be forums out there for guys to share stories and scammers but never really had a reason to search and jump on.
(Let me start out by saying that I have been extremely cautious in my reach and only had one girl ask me for money. She was not on AFA but another site. Come to find out, she really wanted out of her country and I saw her profile on Facebook,hahaha!(I did not friend her!!)) Also, I really don't pay attention to the dime pieces with leg showing and say that she can feel the love, that's a red flag for me. Let's be honest, I'd have fun with her and that's all.
So what brings me to posting today is that I want to take the plunge and buy a ticket across the pond to Ukraine. First things first in that I wanted to start with more research from others on side scams. Did some searching and found that I think the agencies are scamming the men to continue to write letter by having the woman continue with sincere hearted questions so they keep the cash cow a milkin.
Is this true? I'm not pointing fingers at the AFA but maybe the agencies that are on the other side.
For the most part I am trusting AFA thus far and find there service genuine. I'm sure the spot on 'Today' cost John a lot money to run this past month.
Thanks for the replies and I look forward to interactioning from this point on.
Junk;,,, it is a mistake to trust any website or agency!! If they make money on any service or meeting,, they have reason to lie!!
I trusted A-web for two years,,,, that was a big mistake!! Just because they answer your questions and give you good service, does not mean they are honest!! It only means;,,, that they have been in business long enough to fool people!! A-web does nothing but lie cheat and steal!!!! I don't think AFA is any different!
Hi Junk,
Use direct connections, find women on the local dating sites where they don't expect to cheat a foreigner or in the streets, cafes and so on. And be realistic while choosing a woman. That's the right way. Don't pay for letters, "sick relatives", laptops or the Internet and you won't be scammed. Find some time (a month or more) to come to stay in Ukraine and you will have some understanding of local women and their desires.
And if you are in Nikolaev just PM me and you will have good advice and assistance. PM me if there are any questions.
Junk, ignore the restless natives. Some people have no life outside of insulting people they've never met...
Anyway, any advice I'd give (for what it's worth, some would say not much) would be to learn a bit about the culture, customs, getting around and such before deciding this is what you want to do. It isn't always an easy path, and it's one you have to walk with your eyes wide open.
Elenasmodels.com is one of the better sites, as it isn't an agency per se (the women tend to register themselves directly). Look for the ones who's English is broken as you'd expect a non-native speakers to be (unless their profile says they're fluent - even then you can spot flaws. This is a good sign). If you're going to go this route, though, BE PREPARED TO TRAVEL SOON! These girls get inundated with letters from guys who will realistically never travel, and the girls know it! Don't be surprised if "when will you be coming to meet me" gets asked soon. If you have no plan to travel, you're just another endless letter writer to them.
Any real and genuine girl will give you contact details. Maybe not immediately (they don't know you, after all), but they certainly should give you phone number, email and postal address before you get on a plane! Don't leave the country until you know exactly and with certainty who you're going to meet.
Other ways to check for a genuine girl is to ask for 'non professional' pictures (after a bit of correspondence). You get to see what she's like without the photoshopping, and it's impossible for someone who's using false pictures (from a catalogue etc) to comply.
This is all if you're following the dating sites route. Personally, I'd say go with Armin's advice - get over there for a holiday or something and just meet some people.
Don't concentrate just on Ukraine - FSU is massive, and Ukraine doesn't have a reputation as being the most honest place for dating!
Finally, learn a bit of Russian - especially if you're going to go off solo adventuring!
stay with english speakers,, or good english speakers.
its easy to be taken for a ride dealing with girls who claim to speak only russian and ukraine.
this in itself has been the best money making scheme in all of Europe and i'm sure still sits somewhere up there.
make your first trip more of a holiday then anything else, organise some places to see with maybe tour group or tour organisers in conjunction to whom you may meet, so you get get a feel of the place and have something positive to do if meeting is crap.
they will find you accommodation and have it pre-booked, as well as trains.
they do have people to help you from a to b.
try not to invest to much of your time in agencys, specially over there, people over there will think you are just another western dreamer needing to be ripped off..
any person you ask there about such places will look at you sideways then smile,, that in its self tells you how such places sit and what they are.
but then again, everyone to them selves.