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Just been contacted
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Posted by: Thorburn

I have just been contacted by what I am 96% sure is a scammer.
I have had 2 letters from this 'woman' and it seems so obviously a scam I thought I'd mention it here. When [not if] 'she' asks for money I will post the emails in here so you can see an example of how it goes.

The first indication was that she contacted me from a profile on a local dating site I have not updated or used in many months. Now please note that I have been contacted by genuine RW several times so this in itself is not a red flag. However if it comes from a local dating site keep in mind that it just might be a red flag.

Her profile says she lives in a local city but it is fairly obvious from her level of English that she doesn't. Now keep in mind that many local dating sites block anyone from Russia so some genuine RW just pick any local city in their profile. This in itself is not a red flag. The difference is that a genuine RW will quickly explain why she did that and where she really lives. This one still hasn't said where she lives.

Next she is stunning. As in my dream woman level of stunning. Now many of them are very beautiful but remember the adage that if it seems to be too good to be true it is. She has already emailed me 3 photos. All of them seem to be professionally done. In fact one might even have been air-brushed. I suspect in this case the photos are actually of a model but that is just a guess.

By this stage I was already convinced 'she' was a scammer before I even read what she wrote in her first email. There wasn't really anything in her first email that stood out as a red flag for me. However it didn't sound like a personal messge either.

Posted by: Thorburn

I decided to play along and just see where this went. I wrote back to 'her' and asked several questions. I also wrote that it was important to me that she answer my questions.

She had asked for a photo but I didn't bother sending her a photo of me.

I did keep things honest and informative just like I was writting to a real RW.

The next potential red flag was that 'she' responded quickly. Most RW don't have internet at home so it is common to have a delay of several days before you get a reply.

In her secound email it is more obvious she was a scammer. Predictably she didn't answer any of my questions. She mentioned her profile but it wasn't phrased in a way that directly responded to my questions. Also of course some of my questions weren't the type that are explained in a profile.

I was so convinced from the begining that 'she' was really Igor Borrisky that I didn't take any notice of 'her' profile. In fact I am not sure I even read it because I can't recall anything about it and I have deleted the reference to it.

'She' didn't refer to anything I had written in my first email. She said I was a good person - but she didn't say why. I said I loved children and wanted to have them but she didn't mention anything about children.

'She' did notice that I hadn't sent her a photo of me and asked me again to send her a picture. 'She' also used the name that I gave her in my first email within the text of her 2nd email. So the scammers give you some reason to think you are interacting with a real woman and hope you will dismiss any odd things as due to her poor English and your lack of Russian.

Also note that 'she' didn't include the text of my email in her reply. Most people just hit "reply" which automatically includes the text you wrote to them. However for a scammer this would highlight that they are not really following the thread of the conversation.

Posted by: Thorburn

In her 2nd email she talked about likeing to keep a clean house and liking to cook. 'She' wrote that she didn't think a woman's career was important. Basically 'she' wrote all the things likely to be attractive to the stereotypical WM looking for a RW.

This is when I felt I could start to have some fun.
I still wrote pretty much like I was writting to a genuine RW. I also kept things honest. In the end I also decided to write a reasonably long and interesting letter.

However I started to gently discuss things that didn't really fit with the stereotypical WM looking for a RW.

Firstly I still didn't send her a photo - but I promised that I would.

I slipped in a sentance that maybe she was only a dream. I figured that is likely to provoke a real woman to respond to something specific.

I re-asked the questions I asked first time and I also added:
"Are your parents in good health?"

I also pointed out that it was odd that she didn't answer any of my questions.

Then I filled out the letter discussing everyday things. I talked about how I had cooked and baked the day before. I talked about how I wanted a woman with a career so I could stay at home with the children. All of this of course doesn't fit with the stereotypical man that 'her' letter was designed to attract.

We'll see how things progress.

At the moment I am wondering of I should send a real picture of me or just go find something on the net. What do you think?

Posted by: EasyTarget

I am glad you have so much free time on your hands. Just an innocent question, "what do you hope to accomplish?"

If you are going to send a photo, send a photo of Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or a professional athlete.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thorburn

Also note that 'she' didn't include the text of my email in her reply. Most people just hit "reply" which automatically includes the text you wrote to them. However for a scammer this would highlight that they are not really following the thread of the conversation.

Not true, you can switch that feature on and off in most email programmes, also most RW I have communicated with have hardly ever sent my original text back, they for some reason like to start a new message, each time?

Also I would echo what ET has said, if you have good reason to believe she is a scammer, why are you wasting your time on her, move on and put your efforts into something more productive. OR are you hankering that she possibly may not be a scammer and you have found a real gem?

Posted by: cedarwind

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

He may be hoping for a few nice photos....