Russian Dating

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The bad guys are all over the Internet and have infiltrated dating sites in hopes of making money illegally. United States citizens should be alert to attempts at fraud by persons claiming to live in Russia professing friendship, romantic interest, and marriage intentions over the Internet. Sometimes they are really poorly written emails, but other times they might be pretty convincing. You should know how to look out for the scammers and

protect yourself.

Typically, once a connection is made, the correspondent asks the U.S. citizen to send money or credit card information for living expenses, travel expenses, or "visa costs". Sometimes, the correspondent notifies the American citizen that a close family member, usually the mother, is in desperate need of surgery and begins to request monetary assistance. If they allow the relationship to develop for a bit before they start asking for money, then they might say they need the money to travel and see you. Don’t fall for this, you should never send money to anyone over the internet. The anonymity of the Internet means that the U.S. citizen cannot be sure of the real name, age, marital status, nationality, or even gender of the correspondent.

These scammers have created male as well as female characters and entice same sex correspondents as well as those of the opposite sex. People who are quick to professions of romantic interest or discussion of intimate matters are likely inventions of scammers. A request for funds almost always marks a fraudulent correspondent. They have learned from mistakes that have gotten them caught before and are often very clever in their manipulation skills. Just remember to always be skeptical and find out about someone as much as you can. Never send money, and report suspicious activity.