Beware Of Scams!

Article by Evgenia Burilova. You can send feedback to evgenia@1st-international.com. All letters will be given thorough consideration. 

Here you can find information on finding a Russian wife, marrying a Russian woman, single Russian women.

New: Scammers use the pictures of Russian celebs quite often. That is why your jaw drops when you look at their photos. Here is a list of pictures of Russian celebrities most often used by scammers. 

You will encounter very few scammers on our website. This is no boast, it is the truth. We take pains to keep scammers away from our website - an unblemished reputation and the trust of our clients are very important to us. Starting January 2007 we have switched to the system where we monitor all profiles and all communication on the website. One of our rules forbids exchanging any personal information until you have exchanged 15 letters. You get to know each other, and scammers will see no gain in maintaining a prolonged correspondence. Here you can See a list of known scammers

Information is your weapon

You tried to find HER in your own country, you thought it would not be all that difficult, but life has its own rules. You thought about foreign women - beautiful, intelligent, well-bred. Why not?! Hopeful, confident, looking forward to finding your second half, you begin searching the net. You can't wait to find that which your own country was unable to provide. You seek beauty, love, understanding, and appreciation. Suddenly you find all this in a lovely girl who is just perfect for you. Not only is she your soul mate, but she is strikingly beautiful and single as well. But the most important thing is that she is really attracted to you. She is poor and in desperate need of money. You are ready to help her, because you don't want to lose this wonderful woman, you don't want to appear greedy and mean. She may even be willing to come to your country, but the ticket is too expensive, and she absolutely can't afford it. But what is money when you both are so deeply in love?! It is but an obstacle you can help her to overcome, and you will be together - forever...  STOP AND THINK!! And keep your wallet closed.

A man in search of happiness can sometimes be blind to the facts. He wants to believe this beautiful and vulnerable woman. She is perfection incarnate, she would never lie to him! Unfortunately, she might. You may have already heard about «dating scammers». These people simply cash in on your feelings. They disguise themselves as beautiful loving women, but in fact, the only thing they want from you is money. And they will resort to all kinds of tricks to draw it out of your wallet. 

The idea is extremely simple. You see a lovely picture of a young lady - the first step is made. You are already attracted. The next step is gaining your confidence and sweet-talking you into sending the money. Then she disappears. Everything is so easy! And yet a lot of men have fallen for this bait! But is it possible to avoid scammers? Can you recognize them among other women who are really looking for true love? YES, YOU CAN! You just need to be aware of this danger and to have some basic knowledge of standard scam scenarios. 

The classical scenario, which was briefly described above, is as follows. You seem to be so lucky to have met a wonderful, intelligent, bright woman on the Internet. After exchanging several letters you realize she is everything you dreamed of. Then she says the three words you so much longed to hear. You can tell that you, too, feel the same, that you love her. She says she would really like to meet you, and you agree. She wants to come to you, but the ticket/visa/passport is so expensive that the only way out for the two of you is for you to send her the necessary sum. The costs are really high, and the sum is considerable. This doesn't arouse your suspicion, although at thus point it should. This is the culmination. Your relationship ends here; the ending will be happy only for her - she will get your money. Do not send the money. You definitely would not like your future wife to be like that.  

There are other ways. One of their favorite tricks is manipulating your feelings. How would you react if you read something like, «I really like corresponding with you, but I cannot answer  your letters often. I can't pay for my Internet, and it is the only thing that stands in the way of our relationship. I am so upset, I want to continue our correspondence»? You feel that your fate is in your hands, and it costs only $50. Not much for happiness, is it? It won't cripple your budget, and you will stay in touch. An even more cynical manipulation, «My mom/dad/little sister is dying of cancer (stomach ulcer/brain tumor - you name it!)! I have scraped only $180 but it's not enough! I need $400 more! Oh my God, what should I do?! No one can help me, no one but you...I feel so bad about having to ask you for money, but I am in a desperate situation. There is no other way out for me. Please, help me, save my mom/dad/little sister, save her/his life and my happiness. You are my only hope...» Oh, you are so moved by pity, you want to send her the money and save her! She will get what she needs, and you will feel deceived, your feelings cruelly crushed.

All this may sound somewhat cynical, but at least you will be forewarned. That «cry for help» is nothing but a cover for a dirty trick. No feelings are involved, just a quest for easy profit. Be aware! Do not let your feelings deceive you when you get such a message. 

A scammer may use more tricks to get her hands on your money. Some of them, however, stick to the standard schemes that have proven most reliable. You may be asked to pay a non-existent monthly fee at the agency, the Internet fee, the translator's fee (because she wants you to see all the depth of her feelings to you). You may be moved by the story of her being in debt, of her losing her job, her being robbed (when in fact the only person who will be robbed is you). You can come up with more tricks, there are plenty of them but they all have money as their object.

In spite of their poor grammar and spelling, the e-mails can be very convincing. They may tell you they are in a tight corner. Do not let them get easy money, your money! Just think: if you were in debt or whatever, would you ask a person you simply exchanged a couple of letters with for money? Neither would any honest, respectable woman. The request is inappropriate, though the reasons she comes up with may sound convincing. Remember that this is a trap. Do not give in to her wheedling. And don't think you're paranoid - you are just careful and intelligent enough to know a scam when you see one.

A woman whose only goal is a caring, meaningful relationship with a loving partner will never use you as a money bag. A decent woman understands that until you have actually met, your relations are not stable. You are still not sure if you would suit each other. She wouldn't want to be in your debt before your relationship has progressed to another level. And of course she will never ever use your pity and attraction as leverage - above all, because she wants to keep you and would not like you to think that she is a scammer. A real scammer may also say she is not after money, but actions speak more loudly than words. 

You do not have to be suspicious of all foreign brides. Most women are really wonderful, beautiful, cultured and intelligent; they are looking for love and would like to find their happiness abroad. You will only win a lot if you find the right woman on the Internet. Just be aware of the existing danger, use your head and do not let scammers pull your strings. Forewarned is forearmed. This is a principle we often follow in real life. On the other hand, you are trying to improve your real life with the help of the Internet, and it is only natural to follow the same rule here. You are not the first to be seeking love on the Internet, and let me assure you, you are not the last. A great many men have already had the luck to find their faithful wives via Internet. Why not become one of them? It is worth it. Just be patient, true love is not so easy to find. Keep trying, and you will achieve your goal. Where there is a will, there is a way. Just beware of dishonest people.  Do not waste your feelings, sympathy, and money on scammers. Save it all for someone who truly deserves it.  

 Editor's comments: Every day I get calls from my clients. Quite a few of them tell me they have been scammed in this or that way. If you have already been scammed, you are not alone. Scammers also read materials about them and become increasingly sophisticated. They improve their techniques, because what they do brings them money, and they definitely want to get it. The scenarios they use become more complicated. For instance, a scammer may say she has managed to scrape enough money to come and see you, because her feelings for you are so strong that money is no concern. Disarming, isn't it? In the process, however, she turns out to be $400 short. Oh, what a disappointment! Do not listen to this! Close your wallet and stop corresponding with her - she will take your money and disappear. She may even show you a fake passport with a fake visa. We have experience in these matters - just send this «document» to us, to be on the safe side.

 NEW!  They have worked out a new way of conning people out of money! Some of them have stopped asking for money! Isn't it astonishing? A born-just-for-you girl says she is so much in love with you that she has gathered enough money to come to your country. She names the day; you arrange everything to meet her at the airport. You are really looking forward to it. She is just perfect: she is hot, she is nice, she is kind, and - she is coming to YOU! You forget yourself and live awaiting the big day. But - all the plans are ruined! She is $125 short because the agency has created some stupid service of which she was not aware. What a ridiculous sum, $125! She is not saying a word about borrowing money from you. Far from it, you offer her the money yourself and insist on sending it. The poor girl has gone to the trouble of arranging everything and paid for it herself. You put on this finishing touch and feel like a knight. Then something else comes up, something worth $246. She saw you believed the tale. Why not milk you again and again?

 Our new website is being monitored for possible scamming activity. We track identical  messages which are sent to different men. We are asking you to immediately inform us if you notice any suspicious activity. All the users of the site are aware of scammers and are on their guard. You are protected to a certain extent here. We want our clients to trust us and we do our best to delete all the suspicious profiles as soon as we notice them. But your best defense is your cool thinking. Just do not send money.

 Keep it in mind that a scammer may be not a girl, but the agency which represents her. It may charge you a monthly fee, or make you pay for each letter, but the fact is that the girls do not write these letters and usually aren't even aware of your existence. On the other hand, some agencies charge men for correspondence absolutely legally. They have real girls who write letters and are not going to deceive you. The agency gets money for delivering and/or translating the letters.

How can you tell the honest ones from scams? Just think carefully. If the second letter from the lady says she is deeply in love with you, and you are not George Clooney, it is certainly a cause for suspicion. Another thing to watch out for is some unexpected fee. When the agency cries out «Correspond with our women for free!», get your common sense alarmed. They are hardly so altruistic. Do you really believe they are ready to work for nothing? And not pay their workers, and pay for the apartment they rent, or the Internet they use from their own pocket? Hardly. More likely, they want to pay for all this from your pocket. Third, you should be able to get her home phone number. If the girl is reluctant to give you her phone number, or the agency does not allow you to have it after you have corresponded for quite a while, that is definitely a big red flag.

When in doubt, call or email us. We will help you, and we will do it for free. 

Remember: DO NOT SEND MONEY!!! Are you tired of me repeating it over and over again? Still, you guys call me and say, «Yes, I know, but she said...» The part after «but» always results in your losing the money.  Do not forget: scammers are no fools. Don't be one yourself. Do not let them trick you. They ARE inventive, they want to profit from your «helpfulness». The sum may be not that great, just $170, but think: will an honest woman ask you for such a trifle? Definitely not. A woman who is sincere will not ask you for money.