Is the Russian woman I met on match.com scamming me?

by Thomas
(Florida, USA )

Hello....

I met another Natalya that has the same story.....her father killed in the war, her ex boyfriend named maxhim cheated on her, she takes the train to Barsovo from Surgut to see her mum Olga and her aunt Vera. Has shown me pictures of her with her friends Yulia, Sveta, Elena at cafe. Some pics appear from an iPhone and some look professional. She very attractive but I don't consider myself to be chopped liver.

***these are two letters***
Today in the morning I have woken up with fine mood, in the street was warmly and brightly the sun I shone has made to itself fragrant tea and all the day long thought of you, you do not leave at me a head, you seem very interesting person and I wish to communicate with you and I weigh day hoped that that you will write to me and we shall begin with you our acquaintance but when I has come to library and has not seen your message I was upset, but I write to you with hope that you will answer my letter, I with greater desire shall wait for your letter! Natalya!!

****here's another letter***
Hello! Scott, I am glad to see your answer. How has passed your day? How is the weather in your city? My day today has passed well. Scott I agree with you that work on the house as not so easily. I always would dream of that that I shall sit at home and to bring up children and to wait for the the man after its difficult working day. And as soon as it would come home I would do all for that that to it was always convenient with me. I as well as you very much wish to know about you and your life all. All that of what you think. All your ideas. All your experiences. You very good friend I are confident and never will hurt me. I think, that we should write each other more what to learn each other better.

Today I wish to tell to you more about the life. As I to you already I was born and have grown in city Barsovo. In 2003, I have with distinction left school. After before me there was a question of a choice of a trade. I always wished to make the world better, to help people. Having consulted to mum, I have made a decision to act in Surgut, gosudarstvennyi tekhnologicheskii. I have chosen a trade the sociologist. In 2008, I have ended institute. After the termination of institute I have returned to the native city. I have tried to find work in Barsovo what to be closer to my mum, but could not find not that suitable. After that I have made a decision to come back back in Surgut as this city is much more, and at me was more chances to find there work. I have collected things and have gone to a way. Having arrived in Surgut was under construction to live in a hostel, after I descended on labour exchange and have left there the resume. Labour exchange, this personnel agency. I long could not find not that suitable, and I had to work as the waitress in cafe. It was very heavy work, but it allowed me to earn on existence. In four months to me have offered work in Housing Municipal services, on a post “ the worker with the public ”. I was very glad to this offer and there and then it have accepted. I worked in this company during six years, before its closing. Then I had to search again for work, and I have found it in a social service where I work, to this day. To me brings pleasure my work. I consider, that I have very successfully chosen a trade, it allows me to be realized. It seems to me that self-realization is very important thing as it allows to feel a life on the present. Scott and as whom you work? What trade at you? You consider, what it approaches you? Scott, I hope, that today's my letter has allowed you to present I wish a life is little bit better. I shall wait for your following letter and I hope, that you as to me will tell more about the biography. Natalya!

****sorry for the length and I wish I could upload one of her pics just to see if she is recognized as a usual suspect******


Bob's Comment:

Hi Scott

As you probably realize I have a lot of experience with this stuff (I'm the owner/author of the site). Three things in this story smell fishy to me:

1) You met her on Match.com. Things may have changed, but some time back Match refused to take profiles from Russia/Ukraine.

2) How many messages have gone each way before these you pasted here? If it's been no more than 2-3 then things like "all the day long thought of you" and "You very good friend I are confident and never will hurt me" are HIGHLY suspicious. They jump right off the page at me! I met a Russian girl online who I MARRIED (and we later divorced) who never wrote that kind of stuff even when we were engaged.

3) This message is longer than most will write. This is the least suspicious part because ideally they would write longer intro messages.

Fortunately for you you're already suspicious, so you're unlikely to get scammed. See my page at Avoiding Russian Women Scams for ways to avoid scams. You can start at the section entitled "Follow the Money".

Keep in touch with her, and don't try to make her prove she is "real". If you do that you lose either way... if she is a scammer, she will comply with the test and PASS, but if she's real she will not submit to the tests and discontinue contact. Ironic, I know.

BUT, definitely keep your eyes open... the MINUTE you start hearing about her friend in the travel agency who can get her a visa to visit you the U.S., then you'll know it's a scam. Or, if she starts saying the online translation tools aren't adequately translating messages but that she knows this special service, then it's a scam.

But if none of that comes up and things progress without more red flags, follow the advice on that link above and plan a trip to see her, IN HER CITY.

Hope that helps!

More from Bob:

No more comments to this post informing us that the same (or different) match.com girl is scamming someone else with the same story. If you post such a comment it will not be approved. We get it, the same girl on match.com is scamming multiple men with the same story. So, anyone reading this... just pretend that you read the same story from hundreds of different men posted here, but they are invisible for the sake of space :)

ALSO, the absolute worst way to fight scam is to try to build a list of known scammers. Scammers can get a new email address and pictures DAILY. Why not just remember that if you meet a very attractive supposedly Russian/Ukrainian woman on match.com there's a >95% it's a scam. Isn't that much simpler? And, if you get into dialog with such a "woman", the 100% sure test is that she needs money for ANYTHING (medicine, airplane tickets to visit you, etc.). Now you're 100% insulated.