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 crap, 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

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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....

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!

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.

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.

Sorry to all those sho seem to be getting involved. As the OP, I am just being careful, but also hopeful. There are so many sad things happening in the world. But, I really don't want to be a victim. I hope I am right that she's a great person and I was just being careful.

Mike

Just google "Russian Bride scam"
google Russian women scam American men


I know a friend of my wife who knew a group of people scamming people like that. I hope they got caught.

Just so I was clear, I'm not saying I think Russian women on international dating sites are scammers or anything of the sort. But there has been a known problem with scammers on American dating sites...in fact it was bad enough that there was a class action lawsuit filed against the one I was on because they didn't do anything to remove these scam profiles even though they received complaints (they probably felt having the beautiful women on there helped them sell subscriptions...I don't know). As part of their settlement, they sent a card to me in the mail offering a refund of my membership fees if I had encountered these scammers, which I had, so I took the refund. But again, the pattern here was that these accounts were set up on American dating sites and the profiles indicated they lived in American cities. Only after writing them would you find out any differently. That was one of the warning signs. Also it's usually pretty obvious when you are communicating with a scammer because they usually use form letters, skip over most of your questions if you ask them something, quickly fall in love with you in a few letters, and of course ask you to send money for visa, tickets, sick relatives, etc. So to the OP...if that sounds familiar to you, I would do like Slim suggested and put "her" to a few tests. Also in case you didn't know...I use "her" in quotes because more often than not, it's a male running the scam using some real girl's photo who most likely knows nothing about what's going on. Anyway, you won't get scammed if you follow one simple rule...DON'T SEND ANY MONEY!!! Best of luck to you!

I am not sure Mike, but assume this is a picture of a Russian singer. Her last name is Malikova. She is a sister to Dima Malikov, also a singer.
In case I am wrong and the lady is not a scammer...I would definitely ask her to send me more proves, like her other pictures with today's date on it...
Also check the (IP) address she is writing from...this could be a US address....
There is a good proverb in Russia "Trust, but check"!!!!!!!!!! Be cautious.

Just ask yourself this question - "why on earth would this hot girl ever want to date or marry me when she can do so much better?" If you can't come up with a good answer, it's a scam.

That about sums it up, gotto be realistic about these things.

OP, you never answered my question.

I see we're back on the "don't take what I said out of context, I didn't mean to offend anyone" type of soft, sugar-coated posts. If you offend someone on the internet, too bad! It's not like you're best buddies or anything. And one of the best parts about offending people on the internet is they get the chance to type a rebuttal. It's all fair. Everyone wins!

And yes, Blues Fairy, you are a scammer since you pursued your guy. Guys are helpless to women's advances, you know that!

AKDiver is right too, by the way.

In all seriousness though, OP, you have stumbled upon the treasure trove of @$$ that is Eastern Europe. You're going to be able to correspond with so many stupid-hot girls that'll have you saying "Anna Kournikova who?" you won't even believe it. This is a virtual cornucopia of hotness that doesn't care if you're old, fat, bald, stupid, whatever. Just talk to them. You'll find one. There are over 48,000 of them out there. Numbers are in your favor.

If this offends anyone, too freaking bad because it's the truth and I'm not saying it to intentionally offend you so I'm not violating the sacred TOS. Relax. I'm just typing stuff on the internet. If you get fired up over that, you need to find better things to do with your life. Your real life, that is. To the OP, come on and answer my question. And Happy Hunting!

So if a girl is hot, she's automatically out of the running? You know, hot girls want a good marriage just as much as plain girls. I think it's unfair to discriminate them - after all, the fact that they're hot is not quite their fault, is it?

There must be more intelligent ways to determine authenticity. Like.. um... writing letters for a while and watching out for red flags OTHER than her looks?

There is a place and time to meet hot girls. These things just dont happen over internet. I've met my girl in different setting, I met her at friends and whatever, but I was still a little suspicious. And all the sudden over internet this hottie msgs you out of blue, because she wants a GOOD MARRIAGE? Maybe If I was born yesterday I'd be like "Sure its possible", but I wasnt. Define good mariage to me? And no there is no other way to determine their authenticity. Either its a scam or you have something terrific to offer to the lady trying to find "good marriage"

Well I will say this....my antenna's are on full alert. Its just too obvious to ignore, yet the letters(emails) do seem somewhat sincere. I have several pictures of her, a couple of her father, her and her father and mother and even one with her uncle. But then again, all of these pictures are just that, pictures. Time and searching should help determine if this is real. I will give her the benefit of the doubt for now and continue to be cautious. For all the posters here, thank you very much for the great insights and help.

Mike

P.S. Slim...check you PM's

That's pretty much what happened to me. Was I scared as hell it was a scammer? Until I went to Ukraine and met her in person...you bet! It does happen, but I must confess I think I was very lucky.

Um, no. But if she is hot, hot, hot and you look like the Elephant Man - there is a good chance a scam is involved.

haha made me laugh so hard that i

What a load of prejudiced, misogynistic drivel.

OP please check here
Is this the girl ?

Man..that certainly is some interesting reading on that link

Pora snyat` rozoviye ochki

maybe if you click on that link you'll realize that people aren't restarted like you seem we are.

That's hysterical AK...



True Dat

As I said in my previous post this is Inna Malikova on the picture. Check these links http://warnet.ws/news/16845 and http://kaifa.net/2007/06/20/print:page,1,i...va_19_foto.html

And I am sorry Mike, but the lady is a real scammer!!!!!!!!!!

It's not a total loss, I'd play along with this gal. If she asks for money send her bogus Western Union receipts, etc. Slim had great ideas on what to do.

HAHAH--if they send a picture of a famous Russian singer, chances are that they are indeed a scammer, albeit a not very good or thorough one.

The average American man can't name one Russian singer. (Maybe if they're under 30 they could name two little lesbian girls, but that's about it.) Other than that, the only Russian girls the average guy could ID would be the ones he's seen on Sportscenter. (And they usually have a racquet in their hands.)

So, a scammer doesn't need to be "good or thorough" to pull off a scam.

However, I believe this OP has an open mind about the whole process, and upon further investigation will be pleasantly surprised because even though this one was, indeed, a scam, there are so many out there that are just as hot and not scammers. There's hope, and that's all a guy needs! (If you don't believe me, watch Dumb and Dumber. "So you're saying there's a chance?")

Thanks to Joseph and Silvia we have discovered that she is in fact a scammer. Thank you all for your help. For those interested here is the link that was provided. I have everyone of the pictures sent and a few more so I will be added her to the scam list with the current scam name along with all the pictures. I hope someone else didn't get the scam treatment. Her new scam name is Anastasiya Avon.

http://www.delphifaq.com/faq/russian_marri...ams/f1061.shtml

Mike

Avon? Not even Russian.

We should make it a requirement that anyone who has not met their fiancée’s yet post their picture on here before they go. The board can really save them a lot a grief later. What makes everyone think that only the ladies are scammers? I could just as easily open up a mail.ru account and make a living on the side as a man pretending to be a woman from Russia.

Wouldn't you feel a little funny doing that?

"I see from foto you so handsome guy. You like big strong man with so kind eyes and looks like wonderful tender. I must meet together with you for interluding of romantic."

Yuck! I'm gonna go out to my garage now and saw some boards in half or change the oil or something.

Addt'l information for all who might want to know:

The nice pics of this girl are from a Russian actor from tv
there is a man who give him self the nice names
he is working with a woman and she is 56 years old
they ware arested but some how the are on the lose again

Also:


That scammer uses pictures of a famous Russian singer Inna Malikova, she is a daughter of a famous Russian composer and her brother Dmitry Malikov is a talented singer. Here is her website http://www.malikova..dalife.htm

So there ya go. Someone is trying to scam but failed. If I understood Russian, I suppose I could warn Inna. But, I don't understand the Russian language to do so. Any of you that would be willing to tip Inna off to the scam, please do so. I will be posting the information I have to the Russian scam site(s) I was given to check out.

Mike

tip inna the singer off? it's pretty common practice in russia (and even in the us--a callgirl agency used a picture of a disney starlet recently)--i've seen ads for the russian equivalents of match.com etc. using very famous american entertainers saying that their name is anya, they're 22 and online right now.

Just a thought about filling Inna in on the scam.

Mike

I doubt she even cares. Her "people" probably already know anyway.