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my own scam stories

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Posted by: ham

POSTED ELSEWHERE in 2003

Quote:
hello.
here is my experience.
I post it upon invitation by the moderator.
I didn?t before because I thought it was unnecessary & I didn?t want to take any stand about it: EG I have traveled all over eastern Europe since 1990 ( from Poland to Hungary to Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine but never Russia ) while some who never have ( or have less ) could think I am being supercilious because ?been there-done that?, etc.

3 years ago, in Ukraine ( Kiev, Vinnitsa, Nikolaev etc ).
I sorted a few women out, after i had selected them with the help of 2 local dating dealers i know & trust.
The correspondence with them ( very short, indeed. I had to visit there for business anyway )had been proficient.
I would always take the correspondence path first, because if someone cannot even carry on & foster such a basic relationship & grow it into something more, it doesn?t matter their physical shape or education?
no red flags. no requests for $. no shuffled canned letters, etc.
At the time i wasn't that "committed" to the process... i stepped in the " let'see " way.
Serious, but not too eager nor desperate.
There were 5 women on my agenda.
* Natasha. 5 years younger blonde stunner. she checked "unmarried" on her first application/interview.
* Natalya. 6 years younger blonde. Not quite a stunner, but gorgeous. She checked she had no kids.
* Irina. 8 years younger cute brunette. She listed she lived at her mother's with her older brother, and that her mother had left for some family reasons.
Sounds good, don't you think?
Girls were pleasant folks themselves in my first 1h meetings.
So here i am to pick one girl to invite to my country... we don't have the US crap laws. They were "as displayed", as my friends there had taken pics of them in person, so i stood no chance of people 50 pounds "older" or the like.
They were cute to say the least, and polite.
but...
* Natasha was divorced from a felon. This guy still seemed to be after her. When i confronted her on this, she blushed and babbled about the equivalence between unmarried=non married=divorced. And admitted she needed a way out away from him. No harsh feelings, but i had to say goodbye because her own reason to venture abroad didn't match mine.
* Natalya had a 6 months old babygirl. When confronted on this, she firmly replied her daughter would stay at her parents' and that she wasn't looking for a father for her. Also, she explained she had no beef against her ex: things just never took over between them. Of course it wasn't for me, despite her reassurances.
* Irina. Well... the "older brother" was her boyfriend, chum, what ever. He had rented the flat from somebody months before that. Her family lived in a village far away. Not my girl.

So you see by now i was in for big surprises... a felon crazed about his ex wife... a 6month baby... a boyfriend who might as well be a dating pimp...
Did i post any of them of scam sites?
No.
Did i loose money?
No.
Do i have a sob story whose outcome is "never again"?
No.
Do I am here seeking support because I played the knight in shining armour, the hopeless believer/romantic, the ?big sookie lap baby willing to give?, but (as ?it takes 2 to tango? ) I found just unappreciative, selfish ?visa wh@res??
No.
I met the other 2 ladies, who were 110% honest, charming & polite but we just happened not to be the right match.

I just instructed my friends to:
* take pics of girls themselves (= no claims upon expectations arisen from pic "50 pounds or 10 years younger" or from pics of Hallywell/ who ever female celeb )
* ask for their passport. Everybody gets one. Some told me asking for it may prove "rude", but who cares...it's my $ & my life. Running the # through a database to know Irina A** is Irina A** & not Fat Yuri. Takes 2 minutes but then no need to forge aliases to test the lady's identity or intentions.
* Background search on the few, final ladies. Here's how you know an "older brother" is a sibling and not a pimp or a boyfriend; whether she has been on herself, or just involved with felons etc.
Disclaimer: I am not in for ethical considerations: if someone happened to choose a felon, ok. If a single mother tries to go ?the extra mile? to secure a brighter future for her child, ok.
It costs just a bit more than the usual "flower delivery trick" but reveals much more. Just they reasons didn?t match mine, thus we had to part.

Which dating dealer-provider goes this extra mile?
Some just (mostly) recycle left-behind databases or accept mail-in profiles ?as is?.
Some claim they have no resources ($) to spend on this stuff.
Some claim their affiliate 2 time zones away shall do so...and viceversa.
here's my way...
take it for what's worth.

Now I realize I had better probably looked ?closer to my age?, although you see I didn?t seek teeners.
I didn?t seek stunners as well. Out of 5, just 1 was maybe noticeably ?out of my league? ( she had seen my bio&pics, however? ). Others were charming & pretty to me as well, but not stunners.
This experience taught me even more how important is to understand the mentality & customs of people.
I therefore started to learn Russian seriously because I?ve always been interested in the culture as well.


SCAM.
Were I ever scammed?
YES.
How much?
A few 100?s.
I think about 4-5 years ago.
It was my very first approach to the FSU.
I was maybe more gullible than now, but I think what made me come off guard was a friend of mine ( a local Ukrainian ) had checked her & she was ?real?.
The screenplay is the usual:
Met on the WWW, planning to meet, blahblah: I gave her $ to meet me while I?d be there for business.
Guess what?
After I bursted the bubble (= I grew smarter after she stood me up ), she even left the physical address my friend had verified ( he even called her ).
Do I ?hate? her?
No: I ?let it happen?.
There was something strange? a few of the usual ?red flags??I smelled a rat, but the fact my friend had checked her made me come off guard: my own mistake.

The bottom line:
Do I think all FSUWs are bad?
No, otherwise I?d be looking in Thailand or India or here.

Do I think FSUWs score higher in my list than local women.
Yes, I do.
Is just a pair of legs I?m seeking?
It wouldn?t be worth the travel/hassle & certainly I wouldn?t be learning Russian if it were like that.

Do I seek teeners, stunners, 10?s??
No.

Why do I am still seeking information?
Because it didn?t work out first & I suppose I made mistakes & ignored facts I shouldn?t have: information is the key to never repeat mistakes.

Do I think MOST FSUWs are bad?
How can I count them, if I never met them?
I can say very many *Ws come in the MOB process with ulterior motives?same as very many men do.
But I do make a difference between a man being a 5 and seeking a 7-8 ( 9-10 would be insane ) + preferring a stay-at-home companion AND women who foreplan domestic violence allegations and/or research laws on compulsory divorce allowances and/or have a Ph.D in economics and have been keeping accounts for ?Diadia Olega ? shop for ages at 100$/month and expect a 6 figure income & a telepicture job in the west and/or women with unfinished education who expect husbands to sponsor Ivy League studies (and claim violence if they don?t! ).
I think if a FSUW just or mostly wants a taste of ?economic trade up? or claiming a job her education supposedly ?calls for?, she?d better compete in foreign job recruitment programmes & the like, instead of seeking Romeo?s while ?educating herself to her new rights once over there?.
It?s unfair to the (pluri)divorced, eager-to-give, fluffy-feeling, emotionally vulnerable kind of man that (mostly) will come to her as a knight in shining armour to his Cinderella princess.
As far as Hannibal Lechter kind of men, I suppose there are some, but even the INS could NOT prove it. And here I talk about ?average? people: not ?Hannibal?, nor ?grandpa seeking granddaughter? etc kind of people, nor about just fun seekers.
I am not a freak but I believe in fairness.
Of course both good & bad extremes are the 1-2% that keeps us talking, while the silent majority in-between just lives an everyday?s life.




Posted by: Chrismc

Thanks Ham for posting that at least now we have some background information on what happened to you in the past. I am sure we are all sorry for what you experienced, it doesn't answer all my queries, but I have already commented on those here as I read the links you gave us. Perhaps a mod can merge the two topics or the relevant parts anyway and let ElenaK's thread get back on track.



Posted by: joelunchbox

And keep in mind some people have only been on here for a short time. I find it hard to believe but I have been a member for about two years.
I won't say I enjoy reading about anyone's misfortunes and I certainly got no enjoyment from your trials, Ham.
My scam story actually leaves me smiling a little. It would have been a perfect trip if there had been a girlfriend involved. haha She was a great tour guide--just not going to be a wife.



Posted by: ham

Quote:
I still don't understand what all the hollow tooth stuff is about but nevermind


that i think it's an excuse=rubbish to impress the easily impressed. That trick was played on me, get it? Played on me to get money. I read canned "abuse" stories who all look alike= fraudulent if you ask me, get it? That i have doubts believing in slammed doors and cinderellas left with unattended to hollow teeth chained to the kitchen stove, while evil "control freak" Barney in farmer's pants attends a KKK rally, or whatever story they are telling us.
It is my gut feeling the big picture to be more like
http://russianmeetingplace.com/foru...ead.php?t=14833
Get it?

Quote:
PS you say you are being SARCASTIC, unfortunately it just doesn't come across as that, it comes over as being angry, very angry, maybe English is not your first language and that could be the answer to some of this,??


People try to rationalize why they dislike a person (=me in this case ).
Is it because he's "angry"...in spite of 66 emoticons...?
Is it because english is not his first language...although he has passed more english literature university exams than most native speakers?
yes, and alitosis and hemorrhoids perhaps.
Fact is, i am not liked because i tell it as i see it and that stinks.
Then people realize i don't care if they band against me, and this stinks even more.
Face it, most people would "just leave" after the second or third wolfpack attack.
I am amused instead.



Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ham
Fact is, i am not liked because i tell it as i see it and that stinks.


I am not sure that is right Ham, it is one thing to tell it how it is, but another to ram negativity and pessimism down peoples throats all the time, especially when a lot of those people are quite old hands at the game, however, I really think the reason most people take the stance they do is because you don't just write what you think, you shroud and envelope it in so much BS, for example, hollow teeth chained to a kitchen stove, I have doubts believing in slammed doors and cinderellas and so much more!



Posted by: GoingToRussia

Ham,

Maybe I'm missing something ... and I'm sure you will point it out. You didn't get your heart broke, you didn't do anything wrong, and you have your dignity. I don't see what could make you such a bitter and negative person.



Posted by: joelunchbox

Now hold on here pardners....Ham opened a thread so we could see his history and now we are getting a little close to .....what is a word not quite as strong as "attacking" his thread. Anyway, hey, he put his experiences here for us to gain some insight...so let's gain some insight.
I do know that I have some "HOT" buttons and if someone happens to push one...I get agitated. REALLY agitated!! Honesty is a biggy with me. Either lie to me or call me a liar and I will get excited. Ham, is this what is going on with you experiences...someone hit one of your "hot" buttons? I don't charge for the psycho-babble. and thanks for collating your experiences for us.



Posted by: Longfellow

It is truth. Look at Hams history of posts... many are very considerate and helpful.

Maybe today, some think he is an ugly baby, but he doesn't deserve to be thrown out with the bathwater!
I think there is value to what he says and think we need to stop punishing him.
Criticism, I think he takes all to well. LOL (emoticons appropriate!)
(Ham, that is positive support, if you don't recognize it!)



Posted by: ham

Quote:
envelope it in so much BS, for example, hollow teeth chained to a kitchen stove, I have doubts believing in slammed doors and cinderellas and so much more!


i call it sarcasm, love it or hate it, BUT! have you ever read news about what really is told or alleged in a DV court case? You'd better be, then...
Some people deserve forewarning.
They are probably so caught in their phantasy they won't understand, but at least they've been informed.

Quote:
You didn't get your heart broke, you didn't do anything wrong, and you have your dignity. I don't see what could make you such a bitter and negative person.


When i was scammed ( and this is the 56th time i type it ) the loss of emotional integrity was far bigger than the cash value. I call it "loss of emotional integrity", not heartbreak because hadn't fallen 110% for it, but still i realized i was a stupid person doing stupid thing.

I have a few other experiences, when scam was plotted but i never gave in; other experiences pivoting around deceit or other non-romantic but commodious behaviour, etc, but seen one, you've seen them all.
The fairy tale never materialized, so to speak...and i was a fool to believe in it first.

Quote:
I do know that I have some "HOT" buttons and if someone happens to push one...I get agitated. REALLY agitated!!


well, i had a few scams played on me, most unsuccessfully but still...
nowadays it makes no difference TO ME, because i've been there, so one might tell me about brain implants by nasty green men from a flying saucer and i would just shrug my shoulders, but some people deserve to be forewarned. As silly as it sounds, there are so many men who just don't know what scams are, or to what extent they run, or which excuses are used more often...

Quote:
Maybe today, some think he is an ugly baby, but he doesn't deserve to be thrown out with the bathwater!


What i say doesn't matter.
People hate the way my persona ( or "attitude" ) challenges the emotional firewall or persona they love to nurture online.
Hell, today i read an old post where one declares he's receiving THIRTY MILLIONS DOLLARS in inheritance and asks for advice about tax avoidance...
So my reply WOULD BE ( i didn't bother ) to call him a bluff, because anyone in the position of getting 30 millions WOULD ipso facto have the connections, or be able to hire some through more appropriate channels than bragging online, right?
What would stink there?
My deboned statement?
No, because it was like the "fake" marine soldier packed with medals arrested by a cop who spotted him when he failed to recognize the marine corp anthem...it turned out it was a crook with a comedy uniform.
They would likely get very mad at me for probing their emotional firewall and calling their persona a bluff.
Doing so isn't "nice", but again, so many naive and gullible people online fall for the phonies, and that i despise.
I "met" more phonies than i can even count, and in the very beginning i was even duped by some.
Hell, when a prom queen won't date you because you're "too ugly", it sucks...but it sucks even more when you discover the "teenaged model who just won a hefty contract with Versace" is in reality a ugly middle-aged broad working a mac job.

So now i take a different approach




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