Russian dating scams are not a rare phenomenon. The spread of online dating sites and apps has made fraud easier to commit. And even though there are much more stories with happy endings, there are cases when online daters get deceived, lose money, waste time believing they found love, and become hopeless in the desire to find a Russian wife on the web. How to avoid it? What should men know about Russian girl scams? Find out below.
What is a romance scam?
Here’s a 3-step plan cybercriminals usually use to get money from gullible online daters:
- A fraud creates an account with false data. It usually looks pretty normal or even better. There are lots of cool pictures of a beautiful girl and a descriptive personal information section that tells how great a woman is. Who knows who’s behind the screen?
- You get acquainted and start communicating with each other regularly. A scammer lets you know she’s interested in you. She might use lots of tricks — give you compliments, be very funny, share her most intimate secrets. Everything to make you trust more and make you feel connected.
- A scammer asks you for money. There are many ways to do that (more about that a bit further). You have no idea you’re being deceived and give what she needs thinking you’re doing good and there’s nothing to be afraid of. A scammer gets money and might just vanish or continue drawing out more from you coming up with new reasons and excuses.
Why are Russian women scams becoming more frequent?
According to the statistics, over $300 million were lost in 2020 due to romance scams. That’s a record. The number of reports was never that high. It almost tripled during the last 5 years. Why is it so? What makes people fall for fraudulent practices?
- Pandemic. This is the most obvious and yet the most significant reason the scams are gaining their speed. People can’t meet in person and, consequently, go online to look for dates, partners, love, friends. The bigger the demand, the bigger the number of sharpies trying not to miss an opportunity to earn some easy money.
- Blind confidence. Online world is an integral part of people’s lives today. They go shopping online, communicate online, meet online. It seems like anything can be done on the Internet. And as almost any of their activity on the web is safe and effective, there’s a feeling there’s nothing they should be afraid of. People let the guards down and scammers use it.
Most common Russian women dating scams
Now let’s see what scammers usually say and do to get money from online daters. In fact, they can come up with any reason once they have gained your trust. But here are the most common scenarios.
- They say they need money to survive. Many people struggle in Russia. Women are often underpaid and have to make two ends meet. It’s common for them to ask for financial help when dating men. But sometimes they beg for money and then just disappear.
- They say they need money to meet in person. Travel arrangements might be costly. And this is an excuse scammers use. They agree to meet in real life but explain they have no means for tickets and other travel expenses.
- They say they need to pay for medical expenses. One of the best ways to pump out money is to beg for sympathy. Imagine your dear person says she or her family is in trouble. There are some health issues or expensive surgery, and she needs means to cover all that up urgently. As a rule, you have no time to think.
- They say they’re going to blackmail you. Yes, it’s also pretty common. Cybercriminals first get to know something personal about you. Something you don’t want others to know. After that, they say they’ll tell your family, friends, boss about it if you don’t pay for their silence.
These are just a few examples. Scammers can be really resourceful and creative. So be careful.
Russian women scams red flags
A few clues that might mean you’re on a slippery slope and might have met a fraud.
- Your relationships are developing too fast. In a couple of weeks/months, she says she wants to marry you, have children, etc. She exaggerates everything and makes it look suspicious.
- She has a too good profile. No one is perfect. When she tries to seem like she is, think harder if she’s not hiding something. Beautiful, fit, smart, successful, witty — sounds good, but it may be just an image to fool you.
- She asks for a specific payment method. Saying something like a bank doesn’t want to open an account for her. Or she lost her card and it’d take much time to reopen it. She suggests some online services transfer it online or wants to get it in cash.
Tips to avoid Russian girls scams
Finally, the top recommendations to keep safe:
- Use only reputable dating platforms with positive reviews.
- See if a site verifies its profiles and checks the girls’ identification documents.
- Ask for more photos. Not the professional ones posted in her profile. Some real-life pics, or shots from when she was a kid.
- Ask more questions, don’t hurry things up.
- Be attentive of what you post. Don’t do it if it can be used against you somehow.
- Make video calls.
- Beware when you suggest meeting, and she constantly finds excuses not to do it.
- Stop communicating with her the moment you suspect something’s wrong and report a customer support about it.
Russian women dating sites scams are something you shouldn’t be afraid of, but rather be aware of. Cybercriminals are everywhere today and online dating, of course, isn’t an exception. If you follow the guidelines from above, the chances you get scammed are minimal. However, the chances to meet a real partner are quite high. Agree?
Mary Reilly has been an expert in dating for many years. Online dating is one of Mary's areas of expertise. Her knowledge and experience help men and women from different countries to build harmonious love affairs. Mary's advice is based purely on a real-life experience which gives dating sites users a bigger advantage in their online search.
