Beware of Scams When Looking for Mail Order Brides
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
There are basically two types of scams when it comes to mail order brides. The first one involves the internet-dating site itself, or the marriage agency, or whatever term they use to describe themselves. Some of these sites are out to get as many men to pay for memberships as possible and then disappear into cyberspace with all the money.
Agency/Website Scams
Many of the women who are listed with these sites will have no idea what the site owner is really up to and are completely innocent of any wrongdoing. On the other hand, these sites often use women who don’t even exist, or who aren’t foreign at all, or who have no idea their picture is on a dating site.
The way to protect yourself against sites like this is to do some research before you decide to sign up with a particular site. Look for reviews, visit forums, and see if you discover other people who have encountered problems with the site in the past.
Other steps you can take include:
• Looking for sites that require a photograph. Without a photo, you have no idea who you might be dealing with. And be leery of pictures in suggestive poses or those wearing provocative clothing. Those are the ones most likely to be trying to get your attention for the wrong reasons.
• Staying away from huge sites with tens of thousands of women, as well as tiny sites with less than 500. You’ll almost always be better off at a mid-size site with 2,000-4,000 hopeful women.
• Find out what ‘extra’ services the agency is charging you for. Your best bet is with a site that charges a flat monthly fee.
• Be sure the profile pictures look like ‘real’ women and be suspicious of a site where all the women are drop-dead gorgeous ‘model’ types.
• Do some research to see if the site has had complaints from previous members.
Individual Scams
The other type of scam you could run into is from the supposed mail order bride herself. Unfortunately, you’re probably more likely to experience this type of scam than the first one. It tends to happen more often on large dating sites, because they’re able to blend in better, and because a large site gives them even more men to target.
The way to protect yourself against this type of scam is to know what to look for so you can recognize when it happens. Now, you should know that the majority of women who are on these international dating sites, or mail order bride sites, are genuinely seeking a marriage minded man and have no intention of scamming them or taking advantage of them in any way.
It’s the few who do that you must guard against.
Once you learn what to look for, it makes it much easier to spot these women who want nothing more from you than the money you’re willing to part with. Generally, they show their hand early in the relationship, but some scammers can be very patient, sometimes waiting several months before they play their hand. They’ve heard the rumors that all Americans are rich, and they just want to find some unsuspecting man who’s willing to share his ‘wealth’.
They know that while $50, $75, or $100 may not be a huge amount to you, for her it may be the equivalent to a week’s pay or more.With the average monthly salary in Russia roughly $640, she only has to find about 10 men willing to give her money to make that much, or even more.
The best advice: Don’t send any money for any reason.
Here are just a few of the ways she may try to make you sympathetic enough to send her money.
1. She tell you she wants to meet you but needs money for airline tickets, a travel visa and/or travel expenses. This is a classic scam that many men have been taken in by.
2. She’ll send you an email saying she can’t pay for translation and ask you to pay for it.
3. You’ll try to buy airline tickets, either for yourself or for her, from a travel agency she recommends and you don’t realize it’s a fake agency.
4. She’s had an accident and needs money – to pay for car repairs, hospital bills, expenses while she’s out of work, etc.
5. She’s lost her job, had to quit school, mother needs an operation…the list and the creativity goes on and on.
The bottom line is, to protect yourself from being scammed, do proper research on a site before you choose one, and don’t send money to a prospective bride for any reason.
