“A citizen of USA applied to the Ministry of Home Affairs complaining that a Russian woman received from him more than 2000 US Dollars in a fraudulent way”, says the press-secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Anatoly Platonov. After receiving numerous complaints detectives of the department “K” arrested 4 people in Yoshkar-Ola. The most interesting thing is that it was not the women that were corresponding with foreign men but 2 guys. The “beauties” were only to receive the money wire transfers & were paid $50 for receiving each transfer.”
How Does This Happen?
Imagine an internet site that lures unsuspecting men, interested in meeting a gorgeous Russian pen-pal or fiancee, into posting their profile for a minimal fee, promising they’ll be seen by the thousands of women who also subscribe to the service. Someone, perhaps you, will figure for $10, you can get great results and avoid those costly Romance Tour services which tell you time and again you must travel to meet the women in order for the process to work. You’ve got a tight schedule, and you hate to waste thousands of dollars when you can get the same results for only posting a $10 profile! So you bite…
Almost immediately the responses pour in. “Hello Dear!” They will say, “I saw your profile and handsome pictures on “Scam_You_Out_Of_Your_Money.com” and couldn’t wait to write.” “This is great!” you think, “So much response for a $10 ad!” So many letters! After several weeks, Tatiana talks about her mother’s poor health and not being able to pay for medicines – but she doesn’t mean to trouble you with that! No – she would rather talk about her dream of intense love last night with a mysterious stranger who fits your basic description and speaks with a foreign accent. From all your pen-pals Tatyana emerges as the front-runner, as her letters and photos become more and more revealing.
Ultimately you decide you are cursed for having met Business in Ukraine the woman of your dreams (just your luck – she lives in Russia) and you may never get the chance to meet! But the Love-Gods have smiled on you, as Tatiana writes one day that her sister’s neighbor owns a travel agency that works directly with…could it be…the US EMBASSY in Moscow! And she can get Tatyana a tourist visa into the US! Never mind that you’ve never met, never kissed, never cuddled…you’ll quickly take care of that when she arrives, she says! But wait! One problem – the visa costs $500…and then there is the airfare, $1000…she will have to buy a round-trip ticket of course because they won’t let her leave the country without a way of getting back, right? Then there is her Grandma, who needs Tatyana’s income to pay for medicines. And it’s more money than she makes in a year…so maybe you could send the money to her, and here’s the Wire Transfer address, and her personal info. Of course, she will understand if you can’t send the money or think it’s too soon. It seems a pity, to have found the one girl you have always dreamed of, and to let the chance to be together slip by…
So off you go to wire the money, and unload $1500 for the visa and airfare, and another $500 for her Grandmother’s medicines so Grandma will be OK while Tatyana is gone. And you send Tatyana the Wire transfer registration number. A few days later she has the visa, and sends you a copy of it in your email! But the Embassy, she says, tells her she will not be allowed to leave the country without money to live on while she is here. Please send her another $500, again, same transfer bank, etc, You’re so close now, what’s another $500, right? After all, she did get the visa, right? So off you go to the Wire Transfer Service for another quick transaction…