How do I know

[MnMike 0]

I have been contacted by a Russian lady, who sent me a email via Match.com Okay, so I sort of believe her, but mostly not. I would like to determine her authenticity but I haven't a clue how to do so. But I have this website so here I am desperate for some guidance. As you might expect, she's quite atttractive, which is my first clue she's not for real. But other then that, she has shown me pictures of her parents, uncle and ex boyfriend. I was trying to push the your, full of #######, button but that didn't seem to work. You folks seen this picture before and where can I check out this scammer?? Here is a photo of said unknown Russian lady.

Mike

[Ilya R. 0]

If it seems like to good to be true, it usually is.

Dont be a sucker, There is a million scams with russian women like that, not worth the risk in my opinion

[payxibka 10,047]

A vast majority of these kinds of unsolicited e-mails from "dating" sites of this nature are "scams"

Do a google search on her name...

there are also websites that have so called "blacklists" of reports of previous scam activity.

[LvivLovers 39]

Usually foreign women that write to you from match.com, yahoo.com etc. are scammers. I had 2-3 of them write to me when I was trying one of these dating websites. Their profiles on the site indicated a US city but after an email or two they confessed they were really in Russia. Anyway, it didn't take long for them to ask for money, etc. which is what all scammers will do sooner or later. So my guess would be almost 100% this person writing to you is a scammer.

When this happened to me I did some research on Russian dating scams and came across a legitimate site. About a year later I finally decided to register for free just out of curiosity never thinking I would actually go through the process of dating someone oversees. Needless to say, I met my wife there...she turned out to be way way better than any of the scammers that wrote to me and is 100% real. So if you are bummed out that this "girl" is really a scammer (and once you're really sure that is the case), just go try one of the real websites and you can find the real thing. That's my advice anyway. It completely changed my life.

Good luck!

[slim 1,533]

First thing I noticed wasn't that there's an extremely hot Russian girl e-mailing you, it was that you have the Thailand flag under your profile name.

So what happened? Picked out the best Asian girl, jumped on VJ to find out how to get her here and then got a reply from an Eastern-European hottie? Thinking about maybe changing up who you petition for but thought it wise to double check first?

Good call on that one. You never can be too sure which girl you want to "add to cart."

But, if you really want to know if she's a scammer and test her authenticity, there's no way to tell. My wife's a scammer, and she's authentic. We married after having a real relationship (in person) and then staying in touch for over five years before coming back together. We've given it a real shot here, but she's still all about the money (which we don't have and she seems incapable of getting herself.... "You must get second job! I not will be work this Cinderella life, I am fashionable girl and you must work to buy me anysing I want and pay for my dream life." That's an actual quote, that's no embellishing and no BS.) so it looks like even after "confirming" that she wasn't just a scammer, she really is.

The only bad part is it looks like she scammed herself.

If you want my fool-proof scammer sniffer, ask her this, "How about I come to live with you in your city? How about that?" Her reply will tell you her status. Good luck, and if you find a deaf/mute with a flat head, PM me. Thanks.

[Okiebollweevil 0]

I have been contacted by a Russian lady, who sent me a email via Match.com Okay, so I sort of believe her, but mostly not. I would like to determine her authenticity but I haven't a clue how to do so. But I have this website so here I am desperate for some guidance. As you might expect, she's quite atttractive, which is my first clue she's not for real. But other then that, she has shown me pictures of her parents, uncle and ex boyfriend. I was trying to push the your, full of #######, button but that didn't seem to work. You folks seen this picture before and where can I check out this scammer?? Here is a photo of said unknown Russian lady.

Mike

Check Elena's Models on the internet. She publishes a blacklist of Russian scamers that is 160 pages long. And incidentally, she has some lovely ladies that post on her site.

[LvivLovers 39]

I have been contacted by a Russian lady, who sent me a email via Match.com Okay, so I sort of believe her, but mostly not. I would like to determine her authenticity but I haven't a clue how to do so. But I have this website so here I am desperate for some guidance. As you might expect, she's quite atttractive, which is my first clue she's not for real. But other then that, she has shown me pictures of her parents, uncle and ex boyfriend. I was trying to push the your, full of #######, button but that didn't seem to work. You folks seen this picture before and where can I check out this scammer?? Here is a photo of said unknown Russian lady.

Mike

Check Elena's Models on the internet. She publishes a blacklist of Russian scamers that is 160 pages long. And incidentally, she has some lovely ladies that post on her site.

Incidentally, that's what I did when I was contacted by my scammers and that's where I ultimately went and met my wife.

Slim, that's kind of nuts! Isn't that what they call a gold-digger though and not a scammer? I don't know how I would handle that situation.

In my case, I got really lucky. My wife turned out to be fantastic. Financially, it has been sort of the flip side to what you were saying...my wife has told me numerous times that she wants to work and have a good career so I can quit my job...because she figures that after so many years of work I must be very tired. hahaha She was serious too.

While we were going through our immigration process she would try at least once a month to try to convince me to move to Ukraine instead of coming to the USA. She said I could live in her apartment with her mother and grandmother. I finally convinced her that we could earn a much better living in the USA. So you're probably right that this is not a bad way to get a better insight into what a person's priorities are.

[Don E 0]

Like others have noted, this has the earmarks of a scammer. Back when I was on match.com, I also received some replies that sound similar to what you've described. The first clue you might have is if there is an email address in her reply and she asks that you write to her at that address and not reply through the match.com mail system. I saw several replies like that......a clear indication that things are not on the up and up. On the other hand, if she is a legitimate member of match.com and you can communicate with her through the anonymous match.com mail, it's always possible that she is legit. Still, based on my experience in that arena, it's highly unlikely. If something smells fishy to you......it probably is.

[Blues Fairy 0]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

Edited May 12, 2008 by Blues Fairy

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

I was thinking exactly the same thing sister Blues. Uh oh, I guess that makes us both scammers....

[Don E 0]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

Maybe you are offended by some of the comments in this thread? I think you are mostly joking, but maybe slightly offended?

I noted in my post that it's certainly possible the woman who replied to the OP is legit. However, based on my personal experience (as a man) on match.com, I find it rather unlikely that a woman (who isn't a "scammer") from Russia has replied to his profile. Now, he didn't say that she is in Russia, only that she's a Russian woman. Maybe she's living in the U.S. or another country.....he didn't say. As also noted in my first post in this thread, I've received replies on match.com from "Russian women either in the U.S. or in Russia". There were always several clues that something was amiss. The first red flag was that the woman wrote that I "must" contact her via the email address in her reply and to not reply through the match.com mail system.

I don't believe that anyone is implying that you are/were a scammer......I'm certainly not!

[payxibka 10,047]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

I was thinking exactly the same thing sister Blues. Uh oh, I guess that makes us both scammers....

I am sure you understand that you are overwhelmingly in the minority....

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

I was thinking exactly the same thing sister Blues. Uh oh, I guess that makes us both scammers....

I am sure you understand that you are overwhelmingly in the minority....

I beg to differ my friend. There is a lot of people out there in dating sites, looking for their better half. Sometimes that better half lives abroad. Making generalizations about them being out there for a greencard is quite dull, don't you think? Blanket statements usually are.

[Ilya R. 0]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

I was thinking exactly the same thing sister Blues. Uh oh, I guess that makes us both scammers....

I am sure you understand that you are overwhelmingly in the minority....

I beg to differ my friend. There is a lot of people out there in dating sites, looking for their better half. Sometimes that better half lives abroad. Making generalizations about them being out there for a greencard is quite dull, don't you think? Blanket statements usually are.

Differ all you want, you'll still be a minority. Most are scammers, and are out to scam.*

P.S. I am talking only about russians, I dont know how other countries play out in that regard.

Edited May 12, 2008 by Ilya R.

[payxibka 10,047]

I was the first to contact my now-husband on one of international dating sites. Am I a scammer?

I was thinking exactly the same thing sister Blues. Uh oh, I guess that makes us both scammers....

I am sure you understand that you are overwhelmingly in the minority....

I beg to differ my friend. There is a lot of people out there in dating sites, looking for their better half. Sometimes that better half lives abroad. Making generalizations about them being out there for a greencard is quite dull, don't you think? Blanket statements usually are.

You need to qualify this in the context of the OP's original post.... That is what makes the difference.... Making a blanket statement taken out of context will cause you problems.

Edited May 12, 2008 by fwaguy