stumped
09-23-2004, 09:37 AM
Hello All,
I have been talking to a russian lady for nearly 6 months now. (have 68 emails from her and 25 pictures). The pictures are of all different ages including high school and university as well as some recent ones. We have discussed almost everything from our hobbies and interests to our families and lifestyles and work to the possibility of marriage. She has answered every question I have asked as well as asked me alot of questions. Every letter seems to be personal and is never a copy. I have looked everywhere on this site and the internet and cannot find her picture or anything in her letters that would suggest a scammer. One thing that does bother me is that her name is the same as a Russian actresses name as well as a Russian scammer that is in a different city and has a different picture. I checked the IP address of all emails and they all seem legit but she uses a program called The Bat so the closest I can trace is to a communication company in Yoshkar-Ola meanwhile she says she lives in Vladimir City (her passport also shows Vladimir City). I sent her the money for a plane ticket and her documents (since I had the money to spare) then she went to the embassy in Moscow and they apparently did a background check on us and approved the visa but needed to see 1800US dollars to prove she could take care of herself if there were problems. She said she wasn't able to borrow the money (said she tried)(has no family as her mother left her in the maternity ward when she was born) and I told her that I cannot get the money before the plane ticket was up. On the last day she took the ticket back but said she lost 30% of the price because it was the last day. (I told her to wait until then as I was trying to borrow the money). By the way, the money issue was not discussed until about a month after our first letter (11 letters later) and we both kind of discussed the issue, she didn't just come out and ask. She even went as far as saying that the money is mine and she doesn't want to spend it and even asked if she could use 10 dollars for the train to Moscow when she went to the embassy. She also apologized for losing the 30% on the plane ticket return. I also asked her for a picture of her passport and she sent me one that looks real. The picture is the same as one of the ones she sent me a couple months ago of her and has a round stamp on it that covers part of the passport as well as the picture. Everything is written in Russian but under her first and last name it is also written in English. And the date is June 10, 2004. This is exactly 10 days from the date she said she is going to get the documents done (the travel agent told her it would take 10 days). Everything seems fine but obviously she needs a new plane ticket.... She found another ticket but it wasn't as cheap as the first one so she asked me if she should keep looking. This was 2 weeks ago. I sent her the money (650US) last week and told her to buy it. I have not heard from her for these 2 weeks and the money is still sitting in Western Union and has not been picked up. I feel that if she was a scammer, she would have grabbed that money before stopping all emails. She uses the computer at work to email me she says but now her boss is watching her. She doesn't like using the internet cafe as it is expensive she says. Only used it once or twice to the best of my knowledge.
In conclusion, Is it usual for the embassy to ask to see 1800US before giving a visa for Canada? I have heard this is true but I'm not positive. She uses hotpop mail (kind of like hotmail) but every email is run with The Bat program. I can't see a scammer spending so much time (6 months just to get money out of someone). I figure they would move on after a couple weeks. Over half of her pictures are natural and outdoors or in her place. None of them seem to be agency pics. If she was scamming, why would she leave the last of the money I sent her? Maybe her email is not working? (but for 2 weeks? seems strange) Could she be in the hospital? Is she sick at home? (she has no phone or computer at home she says). Anyway, my thoughts are completely undecided as to what is going on. Any advice or ideas would help. Sorry that this is so long. Just wanted to get all the information to you before decisions are made.
I have been talking to a russian lady for nearly 6 months now. (have 68 emails from her and 25 pictures). The pictures are of all different ages including high school and university as well as some recent ones. We have discussed almost everything from our hobbies and interests to our families and lifestyles and work to the possibility of marriage. She has answered every question I have asked as well as asked me alot of questions. Every letter seems to be personal and is never a copy. I have looked everywhere on this site and the internet and cannot find her picture or anything in her letters that would suggest a scammer. One thing that does bother me is that her name is the same as a Russian actresses name as well as a Russian scammer that is in a different city and has a different picture. I checked the IP address of all emails and they all seem legit but she uses a program called The Bat so the closest I can trace is to a communication company in Yoshkar-Ola meanwhile she says she lives in Vladimir City (her passport also shows Vladimir City). I sent her the money for a plane ticket and her documents (since I had the money to spare) then she went to the embassy in Moscow and they apparently did a background check on us and approved the visa but needed to see 1800US dollars to prove she could take care of herself if there were problems. She said she wasn't able to borrow the money (said she tried)(has no family as her mother left her in the maternity ward when she was born) and I told her that I cannot get the money before the plane ticket was up. On the last day she took the ticket back but said she lost 30% of the price because it was the last day. (I told her to wait until then as I was trying to borrow the money). By the way, the money issue was not discussed until about a month after our first letter (11 letters later) and we both kind of discussed the issue, she didn't just come out and ask. She even went as far as saying that the money is mine and she doesn't want to spend it and even asked if she could use 10 dollars for the train to Moscow when she went to the embassy. She also apologized for losing the 30% on the plane ticket return. I also asked her for a picture of her passport and she sent me one that looks real. The picture is the same as one of the ones she sent me a couple months ago of her and has a round stamp on it that covers part of the passport as well as the picture. Everything is written in Russian but under her first and last name it is also written in English. And the date is June 10, 2004. This is exactly 10 days from the date she said she is going to get the documents done (the travel agent told her it would take 10 days). Everything seems fine but obviously she needs a new plane ticket.... She found another ticket but it wasn't as cheap as the first one so she asked me if she should keep looking. This was 2 weeks ago. I sent her the money (650US) last week and told her to buy it. I have not heard from her for these 2 weeks and the money is still sitting in Western Union and has not been picked up. I feel that if she was a scammer, she would have grabbed that money before stopping all emails. She uses the computer at work to email me she says but now her boss is watching her. She doesn't like using the internet cafe as it is expensive she says. Only used it once or twice to the best of my knowledge.
In conclusion, Is it usual for the embassy to ask to see 1800US before giving a visa for Canada? I have heard this is true but I'm not positive. She uses hotpop mail (kind of like hotmail) but every email is run with The Bat program. I can't see a scammer spending so much time (6 months just to get money out of someone). I figure they would move on after a couple weeks. Over half of her pictures are natural and outdoors or in her place. None of them seem to be agency pics. If she was scamming, why would she leave the last of the money I sent her? Maybe her email is not working? (but for 2 weeks? seems strange) Could she be in the hospital? Is she sick at home? (she has no phone or computer at home she says). Anyway, my thoughts are completely undecided as to what is going on. Any advice or ideas would help. Sorry that this is so long. Just wanted to get all the information to you before decisions are made.