by George
(Denver, CO)
Hello, I have been corresponding with a Ukrainian woman through the AnastasiaDate site for about 8 months now. I am 66, she is 47, and I chose her because she was dressed modestly in her pictures, and, as we have corresponded, she has seemed wholesome and genuine. I have replied to her in kind. It's not too much of a stretch to hope that she is attracted to me as I'm not especially handsome (or ugly), but I have worked to keep very fit and am fortunate enough to still have my hair with grey only at the sideburns. I must have an ancestor to thank.
Anyway, I have invited her to visit. She has expressed an interest to come, but suggested that she bring a translator with her. Now, I'm (almost) positive that she's talking about a real live, smiling, breathing translator. I've suggested other machine methods, but she, though gently, is stuck on this point. I'm not excited about her AND a translator touching down... am I off base here? Any reply appreciated. thx!
Bob's Comment:
To answer the question in the header: Only the scammer women travel with their translators.
As for the ending question: No, you're not off base at all. But let me ask, are you inviting her to visit you in the U.S.? Does she and her translator already have travel visas? I'm assuming for the rest of my answer here that you are inviting her to visit you in Colorado, but my answer is fairly applicable even if you're meeting somewhere else.
Read AnastasiaWeb - Review very carefully, and especially read that page I link to there (Typical AnastasiaWeb/AnastasiaDate Scam).
About four paragraphs from the bottom I reference That Ukrainian friend who used to work at an AnastasiaDate affiliate... half of what I know about scams I learned from her.
And one such recurring scam that she told me about would probably be of great interest to you... She worked as a translator for a woman client of the agency who received lots of attention. When a man would want to visit her, she would suggest that the meeting be in Kiev, not in her home town some 3-4 hours from Kiev by car.
The girl would tell the man that she required her translator (my friend) to accompany her, and the daily rate for the translator. But, she also would tell the man that he had to pay for transport and lodging for both her and the translator. For the transportation they charged around $400, but took the train which only cost around $15.
And, get this... the girl actually spoke English as well as the translator. She only pretended not to so as to run up the translator bills that they would later split.
So NO, you're not off base. And even if this translator is a friend of your girl and won't charge you for translation service, it doesn't matter. Basically they're both getting a very high-end vacation on your dime.
At the absolute very least, tell her that you'll find a local translator for her. I would be surprised if you couldn't find a freelance translator in the Denver area to help you.
If she declines and claims she won't be comfortable (which she definitely will), she's bullshitting you.
But in order to REALLY turn this around and take almost all risk out of it, you need to withdraw your invitation and instead offer to visit her in Ukraine.
Read Avoiding Russian Women Scams.
You've kinda already missed on some of that advice by using Anastasia (a pay-per-letter site). You can't undo that now.
But what you CAN do is follow the rest of the advice there, ESPECIALLY everything after the heading "Follow the Money". Every one of those subsections under that are relevant to your situation.
If she's serious and sincere, she would rather meet in her own city anyway, and she won't insist on using a particular translator of her choosing, etc. YOU hire your own translator that she doesn't know. If she insists on a particular translator, it's because she's getting a cut. YOU arrange your own accommodations (travel to her city, lodging, etc.)
The idea is to date her in a way that precludes the possibility of cash going into her pocket. If she picks the translator I assure you she'll be pocketing a share. If she arranges your apartment she'll be getting a kickback. If you use any services of her agency, your cash will probably find it's way into her pocket, etc., etc., etc. But if you choose all these services and accommodations, she only takes from it a good time and a few good meals, etc.
I hope this helps. For any follow up questions please post them as comments on this post.