Do Russian women require "solvency money" to depart airport?
by James
(Wisconsin, USA)
My Russian lady claims to be at the airport and ready to board the plane when Customs official demands to see this money, in cash, or proof thereof. The amount $2800! is this factual or a scam???
Bob's Answer:
Scam: 100%
I think there are cases where someone may need to demonstrate "solvency" to obtain a visa to visit the U.S., but one doesn't obtain that visa AT THE AIRPORT. And, no one in the Russian airport would ever need to SEE this. It's the U.S. Embassy/Consulate that would issue the visa.
And yet another hole in her story is that a CUSTOMS official is demanding to see this "solvency money". Even if it was true that she needed to have "solvency money", it would not be the customs agent who would want to see it. Customs officials are essentially there to make sure that items brought in or out of the country are taxed appropriately.
If you read through other posts here you see others with similar questions.
And be ready for her to stick to her guns and continue to maintain that this is real. I guarantee she will.
At this point, I would advise wiring her some fake money. See my description of this trick at the bottom of Russian Scammers: Email Scams. Seriously, you have nothing to lose.