Top

Don't get caught in this Russian romance scam

Looking for love? Watch out for this massive scam!

The birds are singing, and the flowers are blossoming. It's spring and there's love in the air. And this year, there is the added ingredient of a “fairy tale” romance. Yes, Wills and Kate have now entered married life – and even hardened republicans wish them happiness, or at least more joy than the previous generation of royals.

So with love all around, is it any surprise that even I receive amorous emails? This week Zina sent me.....

Good Morning!!! I am an elegant and gentle russian lady with dark hair and blue eyes. I am very attractive and romantic. I want to meet a man not who I can live with but who I can not live without!  I have very high family values and I am very honest. Almost always you can see the smile on my lips, because I enjoy my life! Perhaps you and have my man? I'm waiting for you to chat, It will be interesting...Cordially!

How flattering! A hyperlink leads to “About Russian dating”. I can't find Zina but there's a choice of picture galleries – I can select women 18-25, 26-35, over 35, blondes or brunettes. What's more, every single one is unfeasibly beautiful. They look nothing like real Russian women I remember from visits – in fact they mostly don't resemble Russians at all. This array of female pulchritude would not be out of place in showbiz or glamour magazines.

And, of course, this is where they come from. Zina, whose email oddly leads to Indianapolis Downtown, a site devoted to that American city, does not exist. Nor do any of the thousands of other women on Russian dating sites. Sometimes, the same name is used for two or more different women (sorry, this is only about women – these sites have nothing for women seeking men, or women seeking women, or men seeking men).

“Zina” leads to Anastasiadate.com, one of around 40 similar set-ups run by Muscovite Boris E Sashin who grosses around $25m a year. But Sashin is far from alone as a conservative estimate of Russian dating sites puts their numbers in the high hundreds.

Registration to sites is “free”. Then you can email your selected woman. And that's when you start to pay. There are premium rate lines to chat to women who are paid 12 US cents (about 8p) a minute - they learn how to talk to ten men at once. And if you persist in your pursuit, you'll be asked for “gifts” - international vouchers or jewellery! Then you might be asked for money for translators and there will certainly be a demand for cash for “visas”, “travel”, and “cash to help my studies/family/children”.

Once really smitten, you'll end up on an expenses paid (by you) trip to Russia. Besides air fares, expect to shell out big wads of cash for the “limousine” on arrival, the “luxury apartment” (usually a dowdy flat) and for “flowers”. You might even get to meet a Russian woman who will look nothing like the photo and take you for as much money as she can before returning to her friends. Victims of one site discovered these women were paid in mobile phone vouchers.

It's a racket, pure and simple playing on the loneliness of many.

Still, hope springs eternal. Take Elena, a glamorous 26 year old “journalist”. This is her profile.

Personality

Optimistic,active,kind, romantic, outgoing, funny, curious, without bad habits

Interests

Life, love, travel, dances, sport, music, art,nature, animals, meeting with interesting people and more other things.

Looking for a partner

Age

to 55

Race

Not important

Other

I am looking for a optimistic, honest and intelligent man for serious relations. I would like to meet a person who will be also my best friend and with whom I can talk about everything and trust completely.I prefer men who older than I. I need a man who more experienced and knows more than I. I want to find somebody who can teach me new things in life and support me on everything what I do.

Personal message

I'm optimistic, outgoing, tender, sociable and romantic girl. I often smile because I really love my life! I'm full of energy and I have many friends. I like to make people around me happy and merry. I prefer an active lifestyle and always try to find something new. I enjoy everything what I do. I'm studying in the university and have a job. I love my profession but family means a lot to me too. I like to be loved and like give love in return. My life is very good right now. The only thing I dream of is to meet a man who will want to create a loving family.

Touching!

But best avoided. Elena is not for real. The only contact is via the website. And the words come straight from the copy and paste library – almost identical to those used for thousands of other so-called Russian brides.

More from this blog: Beware the product testing scam | Beware the invasion of the scam clones | Watch out for this boiler room scam | You could lose your shirt in this hotel venture | Give disaster fund scamsters the cold shoulder |  The under-performing shares scam | The work-from-home scam in my inbox | My invitation to invest in Bulgarian land! | My friend's scam flat share I got called up by a scammer! | Watch out for this landbanking scam | The fine line between a scam and mis-selling | A fast way to make a fortune? | The car hire scam you must not fall for | Inside the mind of a scam victim | Inside the mind of a scammer | These shameless scammers targeted a vicar | My text message from a scammer | The global warming scam that will cost you £7,500 |The tax refund scam in your inbox | My friend’s cry for help was a scam | The property scam you must not fall for |  Exclusive: One reader's £4,760 property scam | My letter from an Australian scammer The email scam you must not fall for  | The sneaky postal service scam The prize scam that says prize sucker The new scam on your doorstep  | The scam the Government uses to rob your children | Sell your car for £1,000 more than it’s worth  |Watch out: These 'bargains' are scams!  |My email from a psychic scammer  | The gambling tips scammer  | The scammer who visited me  | My phonecall with a sharedealing scammer  | The oldest scam in the book  | My phonecall from a wine investment scammer  | How I was targeted by a property scammer  |  My phonecall from a scammer  | Nine things you need to know about scams 

Award-winning scams expert Tony Levene explains why he's writing a blog about scams and why he is The Scam Magnet!

Most Recent


Comments



  • 04 May 2011

    Thanks for all the helpful comments. I think the Russian mis-spelling is now corrected. I did not mean Russian women were not beautiful but this lot simply do not look Russian. All nations/races have certain facial and body characteristics and this lot came straight out of American magazines.

    REPORT This comment has been reported.
    0

  • 01 May 2011

    If anyone is good looking, educated, loves the arts, out going, funny, blah blah blah THEN THEY WON'T BE SINGLE duh.......... harsh as it sounds, wise up!!!!! All these are and have been money making scams since time began!!!!!!!!!!!

    REPORT This comment has been reported.
    0

  • 30 April 2011

    An English women -v- A Russian women as Harry Hill would say which is best???? About 6 years ago, thanks to a multi branch firm of bent and manipulative UK Lawyers, I had the typical English divorce from hell. This outfit headed by a women spouted themselves as experts in divorce law etc. In fact in hindsite, from my experience the only thing they were expert in was manipulating their client then creating themselves loads of not required work to simply multiply the £££££'s on their bills. Like a bunch of dodgy back street car dealers, all the ever so noble lawyers and members of the shysters old boys club did was con my ex. to line their pockets. Early on, to keep control they told my wife all contact with me had to be through them. Right at the start I made offer's to settle, that was the last thing they wanted because had my wife accepted, that would stop the shysters clock and with it, the ££££££ rolling in. So they kept my ex. in the dark about offers. As routine, the shysters dodged the truth, twisted facts. To keep the pressure on and the ££££ clock ticking as a routine, they bombarded me with an endless shower of pointless on line letters many containing threats about keeping to court time limits etc.. While at the same time, when it was their turn to keep to court time limits, they the so called professionals, ignored every limit the court set. Be warned this outifit, often pop up on UK TV news giving one way advice about how you should always rush to a lawyer if a divorce is even remotely on the cards. They ended up spinning the whole job out about a year or more longer than needed with them, the lawyers and the courts making many tens of thousands of £££££ pounds out of it all. After all the empty claims these shysters made and after all the trouble frustration and heart ache this shower of shysters caused both me and my ex, My ex-wife ended up with not only a huge legal bill that far exceeded the original quote but on top, less than I had offered her 18 months previous. That was my experience of the end of a typical English wedding. With that divorce from hell finally behind me, I vowed never to marry ever again. Moving on to Russia. About a year later while in a bank during a trip to St Petersburg, I met and got talking to a Russian women. Following that chance meeting the women and I gradually got to know each other. We both started regular travelling between Russia and the UK. Until finally last year she came over here and despite my pevious vow, we both got married. Reading the above article was intersting but really the true facts are, where ever we go including the UK.. There are scam web sites or businesses like for example, from my direct experience, a large chunk of the UK legal trade. They set out to manipulate your mind, keep you in the dark purely why? for profit and to drain your money away from you. What ever you call it, it all adds up to making money out of people off the back of false claims. Lawyers more so than any other trade can and do, get away with this because their is no proper regulation. In my opinion that has to be the equielent to a scam. One thing that does sound out of place in the article is the comment about the stereo type Russian women. Maybe the author needs another trip over there. What I do know is, I have seen with my own eyes the bulk of modern day Russian ladies they are not only stunning and could give any English girl a run for her money. But they also are highly intelegent, honors degrees etc etc being the norm in Russia, not as in the UK. the exception. Many modern day Russians including my new wife, are able to speak several languages including English, putting to shame 90% of the many brits I know who like me, can only speak English. In my experience thanks to the UK 's army of bent divorce laywers who manipulate the law for profit. The stereo type English women in my opinion has been brain washed into thinking getting married here is nothing more than a free ride to a big pay off a few years later. Whereas from what I have seen, a Russian women doesn't have instant ££££ signs in her eyes as soon as a wedding is on the cards. Instead I have found a Russian women has a genuine and very warm desire to get married and create a family only for all the right reasons. So best thing I can say to any one wanting a Russian women forget the web sites and English gold digger's, do as I did, get yourself over there and look for the Russian women of your dreams.

    REPORT This comment has been reported.
    0

Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature

Most Popular

Copyright © lovemoney.com All rights reserved.

 

loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with Firm Reference Number (FRN): 479153.

loveMONEY.com is a company registered in England & Wales (Company Number: 7406028) with its registered address at First Floor Ridgeland House, 15 Carfax, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1DY, United Kingdom. loveMONEY.com Limited operates under the trading name of loveMONEY.com Financial Services Limited. We operate as a credit broker for consumer credit and do not lend directly. Our company maintains relationships with various affiliates and lenders, which we may promote within our editorial content in emails and on featured partner pages through affiliate links. Please note, that we may receive commission payments from some of the product and service providers featured on our website. In line with Consumer Duty regulations, we assess our partners to ensure they offer fair value, are transparent, and cater to the needs of all customers, including vulnerable groups. We continuously review our practices to ensure compliance with these standards. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of our editorial content, users should independently verify information with their chosen product or service provider. This can be done by reviewing the product landing page information and the terms and conditions associated with the product. If you are uncertain whether a product is suitable, we strongly recommend seeking advice from a regulated independent financial advisor before applying for the products.