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Should I be worried?
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Posted by: rudy1

After reading through some of the posts, I've learned that Lugansk, Ukraine is the "scammer capital of the world". Hmmmm...I'm currently corresponding with a very nice woman from Lugansk, Ukraine. Should I be worried she might be scamming me? I met her through Elena's Models...isn't that a plus on her side?

Posted by: ira156

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudy1

After reading through some of the posts, I've learned that Lugansk, Ukraine is the "scammer capital of the world". Hmmmm...I'm currently corresponding with a very nice woman from Lugansk, Ukraine. Should I be worried she might be scamming me? I met her through Elena's Models...isn't that a plus on her side?

Hey Rudi, welcome to RMP. Actualy Yoska Ola Russia is the scamming capital, but im getting your drift. Elenas Models is a reputable agency with a good reputaion. Just follow the simple guidelines you will see on here regarding scams ect. It is a good idea if she speaks some english to call using a cheap rate phone card. I speak to my RF for an hour min each day and it costs me abou $70 US per month. I wish you all the best in your journey. Cheers

Posted by: Raspberry

By and large, Elena's is good at weeding out the scammers. However, there was one girl from Lugansk that I did see on Elena's, and was ready to write her....but then she got deleted for scamming. Apparently, if a scammer does get a profile on Elena's, it is found out rather quickly.

My friend(who is Jamaican, incidentally)went to Lugansk and met a couple of nice women there. In fact, he went twice. It really astounded me that he would choose that particular city. Me, personally, I would go to a city that has something I want to see----or is near something I wanted to see.

I had no real reason to go to Dnepropetrovsk, but since it was not too far out of the way I was traveling(Mariupol to Donetsk to Sevastopol), I would not be too far removed if I didn't like it and wanted to leave.

But everyone's criteria is different. I just don't want you to get bored or frustrated if things don't work out. My advice is to do a little research and know what's there.

Posted by: rudy1

Thanks for the feedback ira156 and Raspberry. So far so good, but I'll definitely keep my hand on my wallet until my lady and I build more trust.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudy1

Rudy

The guys are right, Lugansk and Yoska are the worst places (reputation wise) but if you met her through EM then by and large you should be OK. Just stay wise and take things slowly.

Chris

Posted by: rudy1

Thanks Chris.

Here's the latest on my communication with my lady, which now has me a bit worried. She doesn't speak English but she wants to learn. Her friend is translating our letters. In her last letter, she mentioned taking English courses; however, I wasn't sure if she was asking me to pay for them. In my response to her, I asked her to clarify if she was in fact asking me if I could pay for her classes. Of course, if it's true she was asking, I advised that I did not feel comfortable sending money since we have not met in person.

We'll see how she responds to that. If it turns sour, that would be too bad since she sounded like a sweet girl (nice looking too). Anyhow, there's plenty of fish in the sea, as the saying goes. In fact, I was out with my friends last night and our waitress was a beautiful girl from where else but the Ukraine! She was impressed that I could name a few cities in her country, which I bet not many guys in the bar could do. Love that Ukrainian accent!

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Hi Rudy1,

I met my wife on Elena's Models and wrote a few letters to other women. I never met a scammer. Only wonderful RW looking for a husband.

There is much to learn about RW so stop by this web site often. Good luck with your search and beware of 'FAT BORIS", a scammer who is a Russian man possing as a beautiful Russian woman!

Posted by: Dave_N_Elvira

If you are talking to someone from Lugansk the probability is high that it is a scammer, regardless of the agency you use. It is probably only a handful of scammers responsible for the majority of scams in that city but they flood the market so much for that city it is virtually impossible to find a good one if you search. First lady I ever talked to was someone from Lugansk. I was very green at the time and stupid. Basically she was from a small agency that turned out to be a scam agency. You are right to be worried here Rudy because this tale to date rings a very familiar tune with me. The lady I spoke with didn’t speak English and needed her letters translating which was a fee, which I paid through this agency. Then she mentioned English courses and like the sap I was at the time I paid for these courses. Finally came to an end when I said I was coming to see her in person. The communication stopped dead there and then and I didn’t hear anything for three weeks despite constant letters to the agency. Finally when I decided to confront them with an accusation of them being scammers, I got a letter back from her saying how disappointed she was that I would call her a scammer and that she never wanted to hear from me again. All up lost about 2 grand but that was nothing compared to the emotional hurt it caused.

Now reading your situation you are at an early stage of where I was. What I would advise you do next is what you did in the letter to see regarding paying for classes and also get a phone number from her. Tell her you want to speak to her. She may not know any english and you may not know russian but the point of asking is to see if she is reluctant to speak to you. If she says she has no phone or cant get to one, drop her like a hot potato. Living in a city like Lugansk she will have no problem getting access to a phone. Nearly all Russians either have a phone or can get access to one if they need to. I fell for that we have very few phones in Lugansk line when I was a rookie. Hope it works out for you but I have a bad feeling in my gut about this from personal experience.

Anyway Rudy, you said plenty of more fish in the sea. You are right about that. What I have noticed is the written correspondence market nowadays is more dominated by scammers than it has ever been. Basically you are better off picking a location to visit and getting the names of some reputable agencies located in the area you are planning to travel to and use their matchmaking service. Why gamble going to a dump like Lugansk with nothing to see. Pick somewhere like St Petersburg, Odessa or Sevastapol and enjoy the sights as well as meeting women there. Logic behind this is if you strike out at least you will get a good holiday out of it but odds are you wont strike out and when you meet someone on the initial visit, then start correspondence with them to know them better. That way you know you won’t be writing your letters in vain. Personally I think the write then visit method is back to front. Visit, find someone who is right for you (usually you can do this by reading body language from initial contacts) then start the written process in-between future visits.

Regards
Dave

Ps: You should have got the waitresses number Rudy. You might not have to go to the Ukraine to meet your dream girl after all.

Pps: Take a trip to the black lists and search her out there. Some of the better lists out there are: http://www.russiantearoom.net/ http://www.womenrussia.com/blacklist_summary.htm

Posted by: Chrismc

Yes I agree with what Dave has said, Rudy....also why not go back to the restaurant and get that girls number he he

Posted by: OzGuyLooking

Dave, thanks for the Russian Tea Room link, impressive site and I have seen many 'ladies' I have corresponded with in just 20 minutes of browsing. Fortunately for me I didn't lose any money just pride.

Posted by: rudy1

Thanks for your thorough response, Dave. The Russian Tea Room site is excellent. Although I did not see my lady on the site, I'm starting to think she may be a scammer.

It's been over a week since I emailed her asking if she was asking me to pay for her English classes. This is unusual, as she typically responds within a few days of my emails. Hmmm...red flag here.

I'm going to take everyone's feedback to heart and basically avoid Lugansk women altogether just to be on the safe side. It's too bad for those "legitimate ladies" from Lugansk that a few scammers are giving their city such a bad reputation.

But frankly, I just don't need the headache, especially when I can simply look elsewhere to other, nicer cities.

About the waitress? I haven't gone back yet to visit her. I'll let y'all know if that develops at all.

Thanks again for everyone's advice. This is a great forum!

Rudy

Posted by: Raspberry

I hadn't seen the "Russian Tea Room" site in quite a while, but decided to take a look last night. What amazes me is that Lugansk has about double the amount of known scammers that Yoshkar-Ola does. Also, surprised how few Moscow has, considering it's the biggest city in the FSU.