How to Spot Mail Order Bridal Scams
If you are looking for a mail order bride, there are generally two different scams that you should be aware of. One is usually run by the dating site or agency and the other involves scams originated by the women themselves.
Dating site scams
When the website runs a scam, generally the women who have signed up on the website have no idea that something suspicious is going on.
But some sites post photos without the woman’s approval, or use women who only pretend to be foreigners or have no intention of getting married. Some really unscrupulous sites make up women who don’t even exist.
The best way to avoid falling victim to one of these sites is to do proper research on a site before signing up, and certainly before pulling out your credit card.
Search for reviews and find other people who have already had problems with the site, including past members.
Other things you can do as a precaution:
- Make sure the site requires a photograph to be submitted. Don’t settle for a list of names.
- Be wary of photos of women in provocative poses or revealing clothing. They are much more likely to seek your attention for reasons other than a romantic encounter.
- Choose medium-sized sites with a membership of between 2,000 and 4,000 women. There are many women to find a good partner for you. It’s a good idea to avoid sites that have fewer than 500 hopeful girlfriends or those with tens of thousands.
- Before signing up, find out exactly what your charges will be, including fees charged for additional services. Even better is a site that charges a flat monthly fee for all services rendered.
- Be very suspicious of a site that shows images of women who look like professional models. Explore the profiles to determine if real women are included, in casual images, rather than looking like something out of a model’s portfolio.
Mail order bridal scams
Another type of scam that you could possibly encounter is that of the woman herself. Unfortunately, you are more likely to be a victim of one of these scams than a disreputable website scam.
It is more likely to happen on very large international dating sites because the scammer can hide among the thousands of women on the site. They also prefer the bigger sites because it gives them a greater number of men that they can try to scam.
It is important to realize that most of the women you will find on mail order bridal sites are honest and sincere women who truly hope to find love and ultimately marriage. But to avoid becoming a victim, you need to be able to recognize the warning signs that a woman is trying to scam you.
When you know the signs, it is easier to know when a woman is really interested in you or when she is more interested in your credit card limit. Often times these women will play their hand quite early in the correspondence, but some of these scammers have Job’s patience and will wait many months before bowing their hand. They live with the mistaken belief that American men are all rich, and they are after those who are naive enough to send them money.
Sending $ 100 to a woman who has captured her heart may not sound like a lot, but for a Russian mail order bride, for example, whose median income is $ 640 a month, she only needs to scam 7 men to generate full time. entry.
The best way to protect yourself from becoming a victim of one of these scams is to never send them money.
They can be quite creative in the way they come up with to make you feel sorry for them, and their ultimate goal is to get you to turn that sympathy into cash.
Here are some of the reasons you may listen:
She wants to see you, but she doesn’t have the funds to travel, including tickets, money for a visa, and other travel-related expenses. This is a classic and it has fooled an unknown number of well-meaning men.
You may receive an email explaining that you need translation services to read your letters and that you don’t have the money to pay for it.
Once he convinces you to buy him a plane ticket, you may find that the travel agent who recommended you is a fake.
4. You may lie about being in an accident and ask for your help paying your hospital bill, fixing your car, or even covering living expenses because you can’t go back to work right away.
She may seek her sympathy by telling you a sad story about losing a job, having to drop out of school for financial reasons, a mother who is sick and cannot pay for her medications … anything to get her to get her credit card out. Stories can be quite creative and extremely persuasive.
The bottom line from this is that to avoid becoming a victim and being freed from several hundred, or even several thousand dollars, take a good look at the dating site you are considering, and once you’ve found one, don’t worry. tricked into sending money to a prospective girlfriend.
