Maybe one more time...

[Wist]

It has been a long while but I am reluctantly thinking of trying the agency route again. Knowing how it is ever changing can anyone recommend some recent info on good agencies or where I can research for myself? Thanks.

[BillyB]

Wist,

You can read trip reports and learn about other mens experiences with certain agencies. You can Google "Russian marriage agency" or a similiar phrase and you'll get some names and then you can Google the name of the agency and "scam" to see if they are listed on anti-scam sites and if so, for what reason. Once you find an agency you think is safe, you can come back and ask if anybody has any experience with a particular agency. Google, shop and compare, then make a decision.

[Admin]

It has been a long while but I am reluctantly thinking of trying the agency route again. Knowing how it is ever changing can anyone recommend some recent info on good agencies or where I can research for myself? Thanks.

Here are a couple of resources for you - though they both have limitations:

First, RWD has an Anti-Scam Table which lists many of the blacklist sites on the internet. Some of the unscrupulous agencies will be shown among the listings on these sites - BUT - care must be taken in that the blacklist sites themselves are often shady.

Next, over at our sister site, Planet-Love, there is a collection of links which have been maintained for a VERY long time and recently updated. You can find the list here -- Planet-Love links.

And soon, there will be an entirely NEW service available which will much more directly address the issue you raise. Stay tuned for the formal announcement - and till then, hopefully these other two resources will be of some value to you.

- Dan

[BillyB]

Dan,

Here's a few more scam lists in case you want to use them on the table. And with any scam-site, if agency affiliated, they could have the agenda of hurting their competition.

http://www.scammerlist.com/gal__.html

http://olgasux.proboards56.com/index.cgi?board=mentionotherrussianscammers

http://www.doctor-roy.com/Russia/evidence.asp

http://www.roses.ru/blacklist.shtml

[SANDRO43]

Good input, BillyB (rats, now I'll have to change the Table all over again ).

[Wist]

Some very good useful stuff, thank you. I am sadly reminded of my own experience a very long time ago of a rather different sort of scammer that seldom seems to be mentioned. I was dating a girl in Donetsk that was very subtle, not precisely a scammer, but still basically dishonest. It's far too long & complicated to explain in detail but I made the serious mistake of ignoring my intuition and continued to date this girl, meeting with her 3 separate times, phone calls and e-mails everyday, all the usual stuff, very normal in every way - seemingly.
Long story short, I learned, with the help of a friend, that she was dating her married boss and me and reaping all the benefits that go with it, & her mother was in on it too. Good actress, good liar. I finally had to face & deal with all the red flags & evidence that piled up, so after far too long a time I cut her loose. I don't mind so much the money spent as the precious time I wasted. I was stalling because I wanted to be sure that she was deceiving me - stupid. Even so, I consider myself lucky because she was ready and prepared to come to the USA with me.  It still chills me when I think what that might have turned into. The moral of my story: I would advise every newbie to listen first to his head then his heart.

[BillyB]

I learned, with the help of a friend, that she was dating her married boss and me and reaping all the benefits that go with it,

We call that a pro-dater. These girls don't want a real man, they want a wallet dating as many a time as possible. If a woman takes you on a shopping spree on your first visit, walk away and don't look back, that's what a man does. I've read many guys get suckered for clothes and shoes purchased for hundreds of dollars at a time. These guys don't know what hit them! All they were doing was following a long set of legs into a shop, listen to a little sweet talk and the next thing they know is their wallet's lighter.

[PeeWee]

Some very good useful stuff, thank you. I am sadly reminded of my own experience a very long time ago of a rather different sort of scammer that seldom seems to be mentioned. I was dating a girl in Donetsk that was very subtle, not precisely a scammer, but still basically dishonest. It's far too long & complicated to explain in detail but I made the serious mistake of ignoring my intuition and continued to date this girl, meeting with her 3 separate times, phone calls and e-mails everyday, all the usual stuff, very normal in every way - seemingly.
Long story short, I learned, with the help of a friend, that she was dating her married boss and me and reaping all the benefits that go with it, & her mother was in on it too. Good actress, good liar. I finally had to face & deal with all the red flags & evidence that piled up, so after far too long a time I cut her loose. I don't mind so much the money spent as the precious time I wasted. I was stalling because I wanted to be sure that she was deceiving me - stupid. Even so, I consider myself lucky because she was ready and prepared to come to the USA with me.  It still chills me when I think what that might have turned into. The moral of my story: I would advise every newbie to listen first to his head then his heart.

Wist, any woman, even one that a man is married to, is capable of having more than one man on the hook at a time. I've dated AW that have had more than one man seeking their attention. I was not the only one spending my time and money with her. Knowing this is a possiblity I always begin a new relationship with a woman assuming there is one or maybe two other guys lurking out there somewhere.

Women have a tendency to play the field looking for the cream to rise, so to speak. My first and only wife was a flight attendant at the time that I met her. She dated me, had a guy in NY city, and maybe a couple of other guys going on some where. We were all giving to her our time and a certain amount of our money. But because she was single and without a commitment from any of us she was certainly not intent on scamming anyone. Eventually the strongest competitor emerged, she settled on him, discarded the also rans, and married me. I don't see any of this crop of FSU women as any different.

A few might be the pro dater and a few might be the scammer but the majority are women being women who are rightly involved in the process of selecting a mate. How they go about it may not agree with you and your wallet but that is how they do it. Once you accept that process then you will better understand that you will give up some of your time and hard earned money and that you will not be the one that she chooses, for whatever reason that might be.

Peevee

[Wist]

I understand what you're saying PeeWee, I know how it is, & I have heard similar opinions from others too but it does not pertain to this particular case. I cannot explain the entire experience but please trust me, I do have some experience at this thing of ours, and lies, deception, duplicity and insincerity are never acceptable or excusable. What they do now, they will do later. Believe me, this girl had some serious character flaws. I have known other fine ladies in the past that were nothing like this woman from Donetsk. They were just regular women hoping for a good man and family. Finally, this is sort of beside the point, but yesterday I got back together again with my Russian lady. Last summer we had been introduced by a mutual friend - no agency involved. Like some other FSU women I have met in the past, she was often too proud to let me pay for various things during the two trips we were together. She even had the apt. refrigerator filled before I arrived!! Would she allow me to give her money for a train to meet me? No. I could go on but... Well anyway, excuse me I'm feeling pretty good right now & I just had to brag a little.