She seemed incredibly sincere. We exchanged lengthy emails almost daily for 2 months. I saw only minuscule red lights. Her poetic, sincere, romantic nature intoxicated me into trusting her.
She shared stories of how she lost her 3 yr old brother at the age of 6. She felt bad as her mother (mum) still mourned the loss but she could not hardly remember him.
Her father mostly enjoyed "wasting" time in the garden.
She worked as an art teacher for teenagers. Only wanting to pass on the skills her mother taught her. She shared a story of how she saw one 13 year old student smoking a cigarette and was horrified. She complained of many drunken men in the streets and being very afraid.
A couple weeks later the fire department appeared at her school and closed it for not meeting
regulations. Her first time without work.
I suggested perhaps meeting in Europe six months down the road. She could not wait that long for us to be together. She had so fallen in love she could not wait a day.
She tried to get a loan at the bank but was unsuccessful. Finally her retired father was able to get a portion of the cost to fly to America. I told her I was in the middle of bankruptcy (true) and not able to help. I talked to the travel agency "Max Travel" (maxtravel-kotlas.narod.ru) about delaying her flight so I could raise funds. They said that was not possible because tickets had already been purchased (Red light). I did get them to delay the flight briefly. I finally flinched and sent money ($490) to her travel "agent" Elena Avdeeva via Western Union.
Oksana only spoke of money indirectly, mostly focusing on love and romance.
I appeared at the airport for her arrival. She was not there. A call to one connecting flight airline at London Hethrow did not show her on the passenger list.
Then came the frantic emails of a frightened, innocent young girl stranded without food or shelter in the big scary city of Moscow. She described successfully getting her visa at the Moscow embassy. Only to be stopped by customs while trying to board the plane. She needed to show evidence of having $3000 to travel with a tourist visa (true I now believe - this IS a requirement).
Protect your finances
Ignore any request to send money, especially overseas or by wire transfer, and report it to us immediately – even if the person claims to be in an emergency. Wiring money is like sending cash: the sender has no protections against loss and it's nearly impossible to reverse the transaction or trace the money.
Never give financial information (such as you social security number, credit card number or bank information) to people you don't know or you haven't met in person.
Did you consult with friends or family about sending money to someone you've only met online? How can someone in bankruptcy afford Match.com's fees or to send such a sum of money? I am sure your creditors would appreciate you paying them back rather than sending funds to scammers.
The person behind the keyboard is probably an Alexander or Andrei and the person picking up the money is probably his girlfriend or mule.