If you’re looking for a Russian bride then it’s essential to be aware of the various Russian brides scams that are operating. There are a large number of scams. The most common types of scams are shown below.
Don’t let a scammer ruin your online dating experience. Read the Antiscam Guide to give yourself the ability to spot the decent women from the scammers on Russian and other dating sites.
African Fraudsters
Dating sites are great places to operate if you want to scam people. Forget sending 419 advanced fee fraud emails to people. On dating sites people often let their guard down. Lonely people are susceptible to scams, and lonely people who have found somebody who is interested in them make the most perfect targets imaginable.
BE ON YOUR GUARD AT ALL TIMES
No dating site is 100% safe.
Be aware that African fraudsters are common on many dating sites, even the big household name dating sites that have millions of members. The African fraudsters typically operate out of West African countries such as Nigeria or Ghana. They pretend to be rich American men (to scam British and other women). They pretend to be Thai girls, Filipina girls and (especially) Russian women.
Make sure you’re sure you’re Russian girl is actually a Russian girl! The easiest way to determine this is to schedule a webcam session with her.
Expensive Letter Writing Sites
While not always a scam in itself, be aware that many Russian dating sites are expensive. The most expensive type are those where you have to pay to send or receive a letter from a Russian lady. The fee is supposed to pay for translation costs. While this does make it possible to communicate with ladies who speak little or no English, costs will very quickly mount.
My Letter Writing Story…
While I’ve never personally used Russian dating sites, I have used Asian letter writing sites. I spent over $400 on one site in less than a year. For that I only communicated with less than a dozen ladies. I was actually one of the lucky guys – I eventually managed to learn enough Chinese so that I could write to my girl without having to use a translator. I know of many men who have spent over $1000 a year on letter writing sites. The kick in the teeth for me was finding out about flat rate fee subscription dating sites. These charge around $150 for a whole year, and you can write to as many ladies as you like.
So be wary of the letter writing sites guys!
Rogue Marriage Agencies
Sometimes Russians brides scammers operate on their own. The biggest problems are usually caused by women working with a rogue marriage agency. Rogue agencies can post fake photos and they can get up to all kinds of scams. Sometimes the scams are small, like the many letter writing sites. It’s so easy for them to invent ladies and send out standard email responses full of fluff. Many of the sites charge $5 or more per letter, and $5 is a lot of money in Eastern Europe or Russia. Letter writing sites tend to make most of their money from newbie guys who might not be certain that they want a Russian bride, so they just test the waters by writing to a couple of ladies.
The best advice here is… choose a high quality Russian marriage agency and do exhaustive research about them before you commit your hard earned cash to meeting a lady via the agency.
Russian Brides Who Do Not Exist
Occasionally you hear of stories of men who have visited Russian ladies, only to find out that they don’t actually exist. Sadly the non-existent lady is all too common on mail order bride type websites.
Scammers and rogue marriage agencies are very good at making up ladies. It’s easy for them to find convincing photos of ladies. If the scam is run by an agency then they can of course just use photos of themselves or friends and relatives. Other rogues will simply raid Facebook or Flickr in search of photo albums of unsuspecting people’s snapshots. These photos can be extremely convincing.
The are a couple of ways of determining if your Russian bride actually exists:
- Send her a small gift and ask her to send you a photo of her holding the gift. Alternatively ask her to write the date and time on a piece of paper and get her to send you a photo of her holding it. This is a popular way that young Internet obsessed people prove their existence on popular discussion boards, so it’s an idea worth copying.
- Arrange to see your lady on a webcam session.
If a lady is reluctant to do either of these steps then be very wary. There are tens of thousands of lovely, genuine ladies on dating sites, so choose another. An honest lady won’t mind you asking her to confirm that she actually exists.
Green Card and Visa Hunters
Be wary of these types of Russian brides! These can be difficult to spot. They will appear sincere. They’re not usually after money.
Actually, that last bit’s not quite true. There is one class of Russian scam lady who may appear to be a visa hunter but she’ll really be after money. This lady will try and arrange a trip to your country. Only the problem is there will be problems. She will need money for a visa. Then money for plane tickets. Then she’ll need money for a medical emergency, travel insurance, money to pay off a loan etc. etc. You see where this is heading? Avoid this type of woman at all costs!
Green card hunters are difficult to spot since the scam only really comes to light after marriage. Usually the relationship is good until you get married, then it takes a turn for the worse. All you can really do is to trust your male intuition. It’s often easier to spot them once you’ve known and lived with them for a while. It’s often a good idea to get your prospective Russian bride over to your country on a fiancee visa. If you live with her for a few months then you should hopefully be able to figure her out. But then again, it’s women we’re talking about here!
So there are many Russian bride scams out there, so be cautious when looking for a Russian bride online. Don’t let the scare stories put you off though – thousands of men have found honest, decent Russian women and have gone onto have very successful marriages with Russian ladies they’ve met online.
Again, don’t let a scammer ruin your online dating experience. Read the Antiscam Guide to give yourself the ability to spot the decent women from the many scammers on Russian and other Eastern European dating sites.