During your Facebook existence you might have been added already as a friend by an unknown and attractive member of the opposite sex. You should be careful not to jump headfirst into a dangerous scam orchestrated by criminals, who are after your money. Analyse the situation first, look up the profile of the person and do not give them any sensitive information such as credit cards or passport.
This is the second article in the series
Dating on Facebook, first part being about
Nigerian dating scams).
Russian dating scam
Another well-known act is the
Russian dating scam. It is a scam where a lonely foreign man gets acquainted over the Internet with an attractive supposedly single female from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, etc.
Quickly, the "female" (the bait) falls in love with her Internet acquaintance, and shortly after "she" begins to plan her travel to see her Mr. Right in person. Money issues arise, and, reluctantly, the bait asks the gentleman to help "her" with money for her visa and tickets. Very often, the bait tells the guy that she has a work offer in his country, and she would be able to pay off the loaned money to him quickly.
If the guy agrees, the "lady" pretends to put all effort into making "her" travel arrangements. But the meeting continues to be delayed. " She" acts surprised to find out that there are various expensive requirements that " she" has to comply with before she can fly out of the country. Those supposed requirements usually include proof of financial independence and requirement to pay off all loans that "she" has in her name. And so " she" will reluctantly ask for financial help again.
If the guy is determined to make her supposed trip happen regardless of the expenses, he sends the money again and again. In the money keep coming, the "lady" will continue to experience difficulties. "She" will get robbed or attacked, may become injured or sick, may suddenly get arrested, or her apartment may get flooded or burned.
The scam will go on for as long as the guy is willing to continue sending money to help his "Russian princess" to get through her never-ending travel misadventure. The bait will keep the "flames of his love" alive by periodically chatting with him on the phone or sending him descriptions of "her" erotic fantasies.
In the end, he will be left financially exhausted, and " she" will continue to pretend like she is just one Western Union money transfer away for finally being able to meet her beloved.
The same scam works with single Western gay man. An adorable and lonely gay guy from Russia will be the main character of the same travel story, with very minor changes.
Here are a few common red flags to watch (
source).
She contacts you first. Especially if the membership on the dating site is not free.
Her profile says that she is from a location near you, but later she tells you that she is actually from Russia, and that the initial location was a mistake, or that she couldn't select "Russia" from list of countries.
She says that it is her first attempt to find romance online, and that she picked your profile just because she liked it
She sends you a picture or two with almost every letter. Some of her pictures are pretty enticing. For example, pictures of her laying on her bed (and giving you "come and take me" look), in her bra, nude or covering her breasts with her hands, unbuttoning her shirt, winking at you while laying naked in bed, in bikini on a beach, swimming in water, showing off her boobs, raising her skirt, turning her nude back to you, etc. Watch out, such photos a huge warning sight. The more pictures of that kind she sends, the bigger the chance that she is up to no good. Sincere ladies save those kind of pictures until much later in the relationship.
The letters are very long but mostly vague. She talks about her day, her work duties, her ideas about family, or her philosophy of love - bit does not comment on the information that YOU provided in your previous emails.
The girls says that she does not have a phone and insists that she calls you from some pay phone.
The questions you ask will not be answered in the middle if the letter, but maybe as a P.S. note or as a few first or last lines.
She asks you to excise her for not answering your questions because "her English is not very good"
The girl will start to develop some strong feelings toward you within an unusually short period of time - less than 2 weeks of correspondence. Honest Russian girls are very careful and guarded when talking about their feelings. Usually the words "love" and "marriage" will come not earlier than a few months of knowing each other closely. They do not fall in love from the first picture.
The girl will start sending you kisses and call you "darling" or "sunshine" or "my best friend" after less than a week of correspondence
The girl will sign her letters: "your love Natasha" or "your princess Natasha" or "your future wife Natasha" within a week or two of starting the correspondence.
Her "love" will grow fast and strong with every single letter and in a couple of weeks or so she will be completely crazy about you. Again, this would be very unusual for honest Russian girls who know that real feelings need time to develop and to be tested.
She will mention that her friends and colleagues at work started to notice that she daydreams a lot and suggested that she may be in love.
She will start sending more and more revealing pictures of herself or describe her sexual dreams about you. You can ask yourself who made those erotic pictures and for what purpose - or ask her, and see what she answers. Just for your information - the vast majority of Russian girls would never even think of sending a picture of themselves in their underwear to a person they hardly know. They probably wouldn't agree to make such pictures to begin with.
The girl will start describing an urgent desire to meet you in person within a month or so of correspondence.
Read more warning signs
here.
Source. Via
Russian Dating Scams.
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