From Russia with love

Cmdukes2 · 2025-06-25T15:29:30+00:00

I have recently met a woman through email, well she found me and I have no idea where I knew her from. Her email started like this: "I guess you do not remem...

swede28

And the reason she can’t contact you on the weekends is because that’s her days off most likely from working on this scam. Everyone has a phone nowadays, I bet you she would have one too. If you haven’t even video called her

Cmdukes2

swede28 I understand what you are saying, she has not asked for money. There was not even a mention of money from her. You really think that she's playing the long game? Especially when so many money services have closed access. Everything I have read indicates sending money from America to Russia is very difficult. I have been scammed before, I know the tactics scammers use from the lack of access to a phone to the fast paced relationship. On a teacher's salary and with phone plans being so expensive I can kind of buy that especially when I see how expensive the phone plans are in Russia. And also, just taking a flight from here without the aid of a travel agent it is crazy expensive. But you are probably right. How does one send pictures of themselves from a public library computer in Znamensk. I guess one can upload them from a camera. It is possible it could be a scam based on that and that and she's careful not to ask for money till she is sure she has me in her web of deceit. It isn't that she doesn't have a phone. What she has is not set up for international calls and she gave me her number. She even claimed she found out she could call me on a payphone from in Astrakhan. That she has to find out how she can. But, not long after that she said she wanted to come to America to see me and then a few days later telling me she will go to see a travel agent only to write me the next day expressing her grief because it was too expensive. So with the cost of flying to the closest connecting stop that will fly from Kazakhstan to America I understand there is extra money involved to get a flight from Kazakhstan to America. Plus there are visas and documents to consider. This is what I found online:
Using a Travel Agent:
Travel agents can help with the visa application process, flight bookings, and potentially accommodation.
However, they will likely charge additional fees for their services, which can vary widely.
Some travel agencies specialize in visa processing for specific nationalities, including Russian citizens.
Example:
A Russian citizen seeking a tourist visa to the US might incur the following:
Visa fee: $185, according to the USEmbassy.gov.
Flight: $800 (example).
Travel agent fees: This can vary greatly, potentially $100-$500 or more.
Other expenses: Accommodation, food, transportation, etc.
In summary, while the base visa application fee is $185 for a tourist visa, the total cost for a Russian citizen to travel to the US can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the chosen method of travel, visa type, and whether they use a travel agent, according to Rome2Rio and VisaGuide.World.

swede28

Cmdukes2 Yes I know it’s expensive. But I promise you, someone you never met or even video chatted with will not make burden your feelings with her money problems. If you don’t know where you met her, it’s likely a scam.

Cmdukes2

I was also thinking of traveling to Russia myself to meet her. If I tell her that is my plan that will definitely expose her.

NorseVictory

Long term romance scam. Russians have to go to Poland or some other country to get a US visa. Fairly soon she will be asking about bitcoin.. Its easier to send via crypto than transferring money.

My guess is if you look up her phone number - its not going to come back to her town / region. Also use yandex - [Russian Google]

So you received a unsolicited email from a Russian "female" - that you haven't known from any other website... dating app or whatever.. 99.99% sure its a scam. Russian women would not do this culturally - especially from a small town.

NorseVictory

You can also have a video chat instead of a pay phone - use telegram or WhatsApp.

Cal

My opinion is that you're being scammed. If you travel all the way to Astrakhan or wherever this person is, you will probably be beaten up, robbed, and left somewhere for dead. DON'T DO IT. I'm cautious even in relatively safe cities like Pete or Moscow. And you didn't do anything wrong by asking for her information and phone number. Don't apologize "profusely." All you did there was show the scammer that you were hooked.

Cmdukes2

Thanks @swede28 and @NorseVictory. I am falling for it but at the same time staying on guard. I just left a bad marriage and I live on my own for the first time in my life. The whole ordeal was more therapeutic for me in a way it helped me cope. There was no personal information asked about nor was there any given. I have been a victim of at least 2 scams but this was definitely a very elaborate one. I even searched pictures online to see if they matched pictures she sent me of places she was at posing in front of. I do not believe that a scammer would plan to lure me to where they supposedly lived though. They usually try and deter that because then what would they get out of it in the end? @Cal , funny thing about me, I have been through a lot in my life and I did get hooked as you say but not in the way of being fully invested. I have been waiting for her, if she is a her to feel like she had me. It has moved into the stage of the "relationship" where a catfish would normally create a scenario where they were desperate and needed financial help which I feel is just around the corner. She shares a different photo of herself at least once a day and i wonder how she has so many photos because most scam artists that I encountered do not usually have that many. In any case I am sure her next email will be to suggest maybe I send her money instead of going to see her. My current financial situation it would be a real long time before I could consider going to Russia anyway.
I wonder if I should share the address and phone number she gave me on here just for kicks. When I searched the address I actually came up with nothing. Just now doing another search I came up with a different result, apparently the address leads to a Hotel Znamensk. "Astrakhan region. city of Znamensk. Lenin Street. Building 23. Postcode 416540. 7 sq." Google maps didn't give me this the last time but this time I used search all and AI actually said: "Based on the provided information, Lenin Street 23, Znamensk, Astrakhan Region, 416540 Russia is the location of the Hotel Znamensk."
Thank you all for bringing me back to reality.

phoebe

Classic Scam, big giveaway is " do you remember me". Stats from UK fraud dept shows 70% of these e mail scams originated in Nigeria and 20% in Ghana. They will never video chat with you, only a few AI videos pre prepared which is the new thing.

Cmdukes2

phoebe Yes, that was the first red flag right along with the excuse about the phone and the inability to identify a picture of a park in Znamensk that I found on Google maps. They claimed they haven't seen that email with that picture which I knew was bs.

Cmdukes2

So update, she did not ask for money even this time. Maybe she is hoping I will volunteer to send her money somehow?
"They explained to me at the travel agency that in order to travel to you, I
needed to make the necessary documents. The cost of the necessary
documents is $1060. This price includes: Foreign passport $220,
tourist visa $245, travel to Moscow $205, accommodation in Moscow
$230, medical examination $160. I was also told that the documents
would be done in just a couple of weeks. Can you imagine?? A couple of
weeks and we can be together. But for me, this is a huge amount. I
won’t be able to find that amount. All I have in my savings is $380! I
need to find another $680 just to start doing the documents. This is a
huge amount for me, and I don’t know what to do now.
Carl, my love... Thank you for all your wonderful words. Thank you
for your support and I love you so much!!! You just can’t imagine how
you helped me get through this pain that has been in my heart since
yesterday. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I would do now and
how to hold on because of this problem. I don’t want to live without
you! I don't even want to think that we will suffer at a distance from
each other. You are not stupid, I am stupid. I didn't know that the
amount would be so big and that I would have to find a lot of money
for the trip... I really thought that everything would cost much less.
Please forgive me! Forgive me for being so stupid. I don't want to
lose you and I don't want to live without you on this planet! I read
all your letters, my dear. I see that you found a job and now you have
been hired. Carl, I am really happy with this news and there is
nothing better for me.. I am also glad to hear that you would come to
me in Russia and take me away from here. But think for yourself how
expensive it will be to make two trips. I will have to spend money for
you to come here and fly back. And also spend money on documents for
me and a plane ticket. Carl, I don't want you to spend so much and
that's why I will try to find money to come to you.... I don't know if
I can do it, but for you I am ready to do anything. I will visit my
friends, I will ask for help from acquaintances or from my mother and
grandmother. I am really ready to break my ass for you, but to be with
you!!!! I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, my prince.
Airplane tickets are actually only part of the trouble and they cost
less than documents. The most important thing is to get the documents
done. If I have a passport and a visa, then I will be able to travel
to you without any problems and there will be no problems with this.
There is a way to be together.. The travel agency I contacted is very
good and they could do everything for us, but the problem now is only
in money. I do not want to postpone our meeting. I do not want to wait
who knows how long and I will really fight for you until the very end.
I pray to God that everything will work out and we will be able to
unite our hearts into one whole.
It was very hard for me, but your letter today eased my suffering!
Thank you for not leaving me and giving me hope that we will be
together! But I do not understand what to do now! After all, there is
a huge distance between us! My heart is bleeding! It hurts me that now
our happiness depends only on me! Forgive me! I can’t think of
anything but you. Carl, thank you for your true and pure love! But I
really don’t know what to do now. I’m ready to do everything so that
we can be together! After all, you are my true love! You are the
meaning of my life! Carl, I’m ready to fight for our love, but I
don’t see any solutions to this problem now. I can only go to my
friends and ask them for help. Carl, I’m ready to do everything to
be with you. But what can I do? Maybe you can tell me where I can go
and what I can do? Tell me, and I will do it! I will try my best to
come to you, and I hope that in your next letter, you will tell me
your plan for our meeting!"

NorseVictory

Cmdukes2 she is

Cmdukes2

I just remembered I could do a Ip search. She or he is in Utica, New York USA