Thanks for the update WTF and Tom for sharing your insight on the age and marriage on FSU women. I have no Idea why a young guy like WTF goes to FSU to find a wife! Please don’t say they are better than those in your country! If that was true I would had seal the deal 2x already. Most young people do not understand what it takes and patience for months or years for this a long distance to work. It does not work. Simply put a waste of time and resources. Most of the guys I know around the 30’s are dodging the M word. During my time in Ukraine, I went to 2 weddings of 2 small town kids out of high school. The rumor was, she was pregnant. Sounds familiar!!!
On RussianCupid.com a get so many girls with no photo for their profile who send me a message asking for my email address OR giving me their email address in the first message and then I get a long email with some photos. Then the next day their Russian Cupid account is gone (hidden/deleted by the girl. What is their story? Legit or scammers? Some girls say that they hide their profile because they get a lot of rude messages, could be true. Some say they found me and don't want to look ion Russian Cupid anymore. Those ones are probably more likely to be scammers. I reply to their long emails with a short reply and some questions. So far most of them have actually answered my questions at the beginning of the email, but then wrote a long email about general info about their life.
I'd like to be helpful, but because I'm so much older than you, I don't know how much my experience applies to your case.
Like most sites, Russian Cupid has a high proportion of scammers (but also quite a lot of genuine women, I met some a couple of really sweet gals from contacts on that site).
My practice is NOT to correspond by regular email until I've made several exchanges by the site's email. The site's email is free of charge for the ladies, so if they say they can't correspond on the site, I consider that suspicious. It's a while since I used the site, but I don't remember that there is a way to tell whether a profile is gone because the lady removed it, or the folks at Russian Cupid removed it because of reported bad behavior.
Sometimes, an invitation to communicate by regular email is an attempt to get your email address for commercial purposes. Years ago, I created an alternate email account specifically for giving out to women I wasn't sure about. That address gets some junk email, whereas my regular Russian account doesn't, so at least one of my "correspondents" was collecting email addresses.
That's why I insist on using the Russian Cupid email at first, until I think she's probably at least somewhat genuine.
Also, I never respond to messages from a profile with no photos. NOBODY who is even slightly serious would fail to load photos.
One of my "rules of thumb" is that if a profile:
* shows an age in the late 20s
* has one or two photos, all very sexy/glamorous
* gives very little information about her and what she's looking for (description etc. has just a few words, or a very standard generic sentence)
...then the profile is almost guaranteed to be junk.
A common pattern on ALL of the websites is that scammers create a new profile, contact vast numbers of men using a single form letter, and get into their exploits so rapidly that they are booted off the site within a day or two (less common on elenasmodels, but it does happen). A simple way to deal with this, is not to respond to a message from a new profile for at least a few days! If a woman is serious, her profile will stay active for months, at least.
That you're getting answers to your questions is interesting. Traditionally, scammer correspondence was pure "canned" letters, so there would be no response to your statements and questions.
Anyway, you'll be learning a lot about what works and what doesn't ... I hope you'll share your knowledge here. Good luck!
What I noticed, were dozens if not hundreds of profiles that all fit the same pattern. Almost without exception, the age was given as 27.
There are certainly dishonest profiles of all ages, but somebody seemed to have made a "rubber stamp" of a particular kind of guaranteed useless profile.
E-mails = more junk mail heading to you or it will lost within the junk mail……I rather give them my link to VK or FB or Odnoklassniki. Just verify with video before adding. If they don’t have any of those be very worry, very!
WTF, Here is my advice to you on several subjects.
First, the high yield bank deposits. I hope you know that these are in Ukrainian currency, and Ukrainian currency tends to fluctuate, sometimes widely, against the major currencies. When I was in Ukraine in 2007, the exchange rate was 4.5 to the USD. Today, the exchange rate is 8.1 to the USD. So keep in mind that you could lose or gain principal, possibly significantly, when investing in their bank time deposits. Personally, I wouldn't trust their banks. They are fine for a checking/current account for everyday expenses, but I wouldn't invest with them long term. If another economic crisis came along, what happened in Cyprus could very well happen in Ukraine.
Second, Ukraine does have some kind of currency controls; exactly what the laws are, I am not sure. I know this because a lady in Ukraine was telling me how after a relative had died, they had problems getting the money out of the country because her heirs had all moved abroad. The way that they did get the money from the property to the heirs was quite complicated and probably could not be accomplished if one were not a citizen there.
Third, Ukraine was hit especially hard by the economic crisis and housing bust of 2007-2008. Some new apartments in Kiev that were selling for a million USD before the crisis, and were selling for $250,000 after the crisis. Who knows if it will happen again. Keep that in mind if you buy property there.
Fourth, there are scam artists everywhere at these agencies, even though the agencies try to filter them out and the agency managers will tell you that they have successfully filtered them out. What you have experienced are a few scams; there are more than you can count, not to mention that some of the agencies themselves are downright dishonest. I know, as I went to an agency with a friend of mine who acted stupid, but he spoke fluent Russian, as well as several other languages fluently. In some cities, even the agencies will call each other out for lying and being dishonest. These agencies appear and disappear frequently; it is common practice that if an agency is caught doing dishonest things, they will close down and reopen under another name. I could give you a long list of defunct agencies. And yes, the ladies in Nikolaev get paid to talk to you on Skype, and some are married; this is their part-time job, to help scam foreign men. I completely avoid writing, e-mailing, or Skyping and go over there and meet them in person at the agencies. I have found a couple of honest agencies (it seems they are very rare). If you want their contact information, private message me.
Don't be discouraged; just avoid the scams. There are honest, decent women everywhere over there (all over Russia and Ukraine), including Nikolaev; you just have to sift them out from all of the bad ones.
Durak,,, I can believe it. My first foreign dating site was Russian Euro, which is now Russian Cupid. Not a single honest woman to be found back then,,,, and I doubt that it has improved any.
Back a while,,,, some guys on the forum came to the conclusion that 28 was the perfect age to search for. Young enough to safely have several children,,, but old enough to be serious and know what they want. I’m sure the women know what we are looking for too.
I just got this message from a girl who is 29, hot, Ukrainian, writes long message usually and I replied with a short, irrelevant message...
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Thank you for your reply WTF!Honey you know I am very serious girl
and always read your letter very carefully and honey you know as for me you show to me
your unrespect when on mine letter to which I spent time and keep there all my heart you answer for few
words,you will be pleased if I doing for your the same?I don't think so honey!I wrote a lot of many things
and asked a questions to you ,where they are?I hope in next see more open letter ok?I not pleasant now WTF!
About your trip,yeah will be nice if you visit Ukraine?To what city you coming and when honey?Here is very nice
and I sure that you will enjoy,I with pleasure spent time with you if we can meet with you,it will be nice !
Write to me date when you come to Ukraine that if so I can ask to my boss that he leave me from work!
I wait your answer and wish you good day!sincerely your Alla
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I will ask for her FB, VK, classmates etc and if she doesn't have them I will bail on her.
Classmates aka Odnoklassniki (prefer dating site in UA) is now available in English and has video chatting known as Skype incorporated. Why waste the time talking to pretty picts, it takes a few minute for a go, no-go relationship. In 1 occasion, we exchange a few questions , after it either she turn me down or she knew I was not putting up w/ BS.
Tom Shea. Who told you that 18-30 year old women aren't looking for someone for the rest of their lives?
Did you ask them? Did you phone them? Did you ask their friends?
Everyone is different. Most Ukrainian Women who want a boyfriend want someone serious. They're very family oriented. Most of them, not all. What they're looking for is the right person in their life whom they will be married to.
Guys, stop coming up to conclusions. Ridiculous.
Sources: Ukrainian Canadian, who teaches in Kiev. Has a wife, has lived here for over a year. Has over 100 students per week usually.
Ok, enough of the BS. I need some feedback about this one girl. My response to her email above was...
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Hi Alla
I wrote a short answer because there are many scammers on Russian Cupid and I need to know more about you before I spend my time getting to know you and sharing information about my private life. It is normal to be careful with privacy, correct?
Also, you said you are 29. You want children soon. I am not sure if I want them and if I do it will not be for 4-5 years. So, why are you writing to me?
Also what is your job?
I will visit many cities in Ukraine. I will go in November or December.
Thanks,
WTF
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She replied with...
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I think that you not serious man WTF and you need fun,I'm not here
for this and by the way I told to you about my work,if you be more careful with my letters
you must know,but you not!
Good luck with playing with other girl!Bye
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So, I guess that means she was a genuine girl? Or, maybe she is a scammer and realized I am not stupid enough to fall for her scam?
wineman, why such a pessimist?
Yes, The currency did get devalued in late 2007/early 2008 but has remained stable since then.
But on the same token, a USD only buys 6 Chinese Remembi but could buy 9+ in 2007.
4 major Ukrainian banks have large US or European ownership. The Hynvna would have to reach 16 to a dollar to offset
the interest rate benefit to other currency investments. Ive got 50k there now (4 different banks, just to be safe) the interest
pays my expenses when Im there, which is up to 12 weeks a year.
regarding property, yes real estate took a hit in 2009 but mostly on properties over 500k. There was little change in
average property values that you and I and most Ukrainians can afford. I bought my apartment for 45K in 2007 and spend 20k on it.
Its worth 85k now.
We agree there are many dishonest ladies and agencies out there but there are far more genuine ladies and several good agencies.
We also agree its better to simply spend time in Ukraine and meet girls in person. I think no one will be successful spending a week
once or twice a year and simply writing letters.
WTF
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If she replied with...
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I think that you not serious man WTF and you need fun,I'm not here
for this and by the way I told to you about my work,if you be more careful with my letters
you must know,but you not!
Good luck with playing with other girl!Bye
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After you wrote to her….!!!!!
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“I will visit many cities in Ukraine. I will go in November or December.”
Dude,,,I don’t know if she was a genuine girl or, maybe a scammer, or that you are serious or not (and nobody REALY knows)…. But I agree with her that you are a PLAYER….so” Good luck with playing with other girl[s]!”