As much as I’d love to tell you that your Ukraine dating journey will be a great one – that you’ll find the love of your life within ten minutes of being online and within just a year of first talking to her, you’d be married with one baby on the way – life doesn’t always pan out quite like that. As much as finding a Ukraine bride can be the best thing that ever happens to you, there might be a few bumps along the way. Have you even spared a thought to the new scam – the Ukraine dating scam?
“Hey! It’s been a really bad day. My car broke down and I couldn’t get to work. My boss is going to fire me if I can’t make it to work tomorrow and I can’t afford to get my car fixed. I don’t know what to do…”
I was talking to a girl called Alena for about three and a half months before this message popped up on my screen and my heart sunk the second I read it. She was a scam artist. Do you know how I knew this? Because I was smart, I had done my research before I went looking.
With the average scam artist, this Ukraine girl will look like the real deal. You’ve seen a whole bunch of photos of her doing various things and you’ve spoken to her on the phone once too. You couldn’t video chat with her because she can’t really afford a new web cam right now and in fact, she actually hinted at you to send her some money so that she could.
Things start to go wrong. Her car will break down or her fridge will break. She won’t be able to afford medical care for herself or a loved one. There will be reasons why she needs money and they all seem perfectly feasible to you. You go to type your banks name into your web browser to initiate the transfer of money….
STOP!
He or she could be part of an elaborate con to lure trusting foreigners in and scam them out of their hard earned cash. It could be some forty year old Russian guy that’s just looking to make himself a few bucks and he got you to talk to one of his friends with the agreement that she would get a percentage out of whatever money he earns.
Her monetary needs could be down to any number of reasons… She might need travel documents or money for air fares, so she can come and see you. These are trips she’ll never quite make for one reason or another – her car broken down on the way to the airport and she missed her flight or her mother had a heart attack or fell down the stairs.
She might need help to pay off a loan shark she has found herself in trouble with, or need money to put on her cell phone so that she can talk to you. Or she might need regular ‘pocket money’ from you in order to keep going to that internet cafe that funnily enough, doesn’t have a single webcam within it.
Think about it – there’s a reason you haven’t spoken to her ‘face to face’ as yet. There’s a reason she needs that money. There’s a reason she never makes that trip. It’s because it’s a con. It’s not real. You’re not talking to some beautiful Ukrainian woman that you have every intention of marrying, you’re talking to someone behind a Ukraine dating scam.
There are many ways that you can avoid this from happening. For a start, don’t send money to a complete stranger. Think about it – what advice would you give to someone else standing in your shoes right now? You’d be cynical too, right?
Make sure you ask questions. Take a look at her Facebook page. Reverse search her cell phone number or simply do a Google search for her. If she exists, there’s a good chance she’ll be out there somewhere… Have you ever Google’d yourself?
The smarter you are, the less likely you will fall for one of these nasty Ukraine dating scams. Trust me – it’s all about keeping your eyes and ears peeled. If it’s uncomfortable for you or going in a direction you don’t feel right with, don’t do it. You should never feel pressured into giving anyone any money!