I got an email from a girl in Russia...

[wxman]

She wrote and said she is in an exchange program, coming in 2.5 weeks, and she doesn't know where in the US she will be? These exchange programs are planned well in advance. A legit person accepted by this program knows well ahead of time where they will be working or studying. She's paid for the trip, but yet does not know where the plane will take her?  With today's security, these things just don't happen on a few days notice.  Doesn't seem to add up at all. She may be calling you to lure you in a little more and prove she exists. And then on day of flight, you will get another call, saying she is being held up at airport because her passport isn't correct, or she can't leave unless she is carrying $2000, her papers aren't correct, but for $1000 it can be fixed, and so on. I'm not saying this is what will happen, but be prepared for it.

[Lily]

Ok, she wrote back, and threw me a curve I didn't expect...she asked for my phone number so she could call ME! 

Yes give her your number with all codes, preferrably in the way as you 'd call home from Russia, I mean, start w country code and eliminate all unneeded zeros, otherwise she will mistaken by dialing. That happened to me often with calls abroad.

Please talk slowly, as distinctive as you can, don't forget to ask whether she gets you allright.

 

[Simoni]

She wrote and said she is in an exchange program, coming in 2.5 weeks, and she doesn't know where in the US she will be? These exchange programs are planned well in advance. A legit person accepted by this program knows well ahead of time where they will be working or studying. She's paid for the trip, but yet does not know where the plane will take her?  With today's security, these things just don't happen on a few days notice.  Doesn't seem to add up at all. She may be calling you to lure you in a little more and prove she exists. And then on day of flight, you will get another call, saying she is being held up at airport because her passport isn't correct, or she can't leave unless she is carrying $2000, her papers aren't correct, but for $1000 it can be fixed, and so on. I'm not saying this is what will happen, but be prepared for it.

I remember reading on another thread about such a scam.  The girls said they were calling the guys from Russia, but caller ID revealed the call was really from somewhere in Arkansas, or such.

Be interesting to see the end of this story...but most of us know that it will be a dead end.

[jh3]

I'm more interested than anything myself...I have a pretty active social life anyway, and I am taking the attitude that if she is indeed legit, I may have a new friend, but I'm not one to believe in love at first sight, and am very sceptical of anyone who seems to be developing feelings through a couple of emails. I didn't seek her out, just as I don't seek out most of my dates from match.com, and I don't believe anything until we have actually met, whether they are from halfway around the world or down the street. She isn't going to get any money out of me, and I am pretty guarded with my emotions, so I say whats the harm? I am very used to gold diggers (I'm a stockbroker in Atlanta), and that is a universal thing...

[Simoni]

JH3,
Many of us got our start from a contact like you are experiencing.  Almost all turned out the be fake. But it got our interest, and we starting seeking an FSU girl--on our terms.

So even if this girl is a scammer--it's ok.  There are hundrends of thousands of legit girls you can seek.

Good luck.

[Wild Tigress]

It's a famous scam. She will ask you to send her money right before her "flight".

[AnastassiaAsh]

Even through some exchange program or whatever HOW will US Embassy give her visa? We know it is 0.00001 percent for it to happen. Did she travel abroad before? Ready to pay for the trip but 'they didn't tell her what cities she will visit/stay?'

[Serebro]

What is wrong with this girl?!
I am not sure about dental surgeons, but I do know that there's a special programm for Russian nurses in the USA.Try google to know more.
When I was going to the USA on a student programm I tried to make friends, too, thanx God they weren't so nervous

[wxman]

What is wrong with this girl?!
I am not sure about dental surgeons, but I do know that there's a special programm for Russian nurses in the USA.Try google to know more.
When I was going to the USA on a student programm I tried to make friends, too, thanx God they weren't so nervous

Serebro,

How long did it take for you to get accepted to the program? Was it a difficult process?

[Lily]

Even through some exchange program or whatever HOW will US Embassy give her visa? We know it is 0.00001 percent for it to happen. 

May I disagree Nastya  The 0.00001 percent of visa chances applies likely for a tourist visa, but not for a J exchange visa.

I never heard any participant in a U.S. exchage program was rejected a visa. We even did not apply in person. American Councils, the administrator of the program, did all filings for us. We only had to care about our valid international pasports.

In my visa application I stated that I am single, no kids, very small salary, etc. A classic case of visa denial. No chances for a tourist visa for me, yes! But as fas as I was an exchange program participant, I did not had to prove absence of my intentions to immigrate.

[Lily]

For your curiosity,  some brief statistics about one of programs, Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX). The most alumni I know seem to be from this program

*Its goal is to provide an opportunity for high school students from the countries of the former Soviet Union to experience life in a democratic society in order to promote democratic values and institutions in Eurasia. The Department of State awards grants for school and host family placement and overall student monitoring to private U.S. organizations.

Students meeting the age and grade criteria are invited to take a multiple-choice English test, and to write three in-class essays (in English) in response to specific questions. Eligible students deciding to continue with the application process are invited to take (in alternate years) either the pre-TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) test. Students with the best assessments pass to the next level of the competition. They are asked to submit complete applications and are interviewed. Less than 15% of the original applicant pool (approximately 6,200 for 2005/2006) are invited to complete applications. The files are updated for each student, and the original SLEP or TOEFL answer sheet and essay questions are attached to the application form. The complete application and computer data files are then forwarded to the American Councils' headquarters office in Washington, DC for further processing and selection.

From approximately 6,200 applications from the FSU countries received in Moscow, 1,200 finalists were selected for the 2005/2006 program.

Since the program's inception in 1992, more than 11,000 students from the former Soviet Union have spent one academic year attending schools and living with host families throughout the United States*.

[AnastassiaAsh]

Lily, very interesting. I haven't heard about this, leave alone 7 years ago when I was doing K1.

I wonder what the procedure is if a girl marries a man being in the US on such exchange program? Marriage visa? Will she have permission to stay in the US with her husband?

[William3rd]

J visa with a two year return requirement is tough to get a waiver based on a marriage that occurs during the visit. As far as the high schoolers go. . . . . . .

[Lily]

I wonder what the procedure is if a girl marries a man being in the US on such exchange program? Marriage visa? Will she have permission to stay in the US with her husband?

No procedure She still has to comply with her J visa conditions. Her marriage status and her purpose of visit do not correlate to each other. That means she can fall in love and marry an American, a very possible scenario though, but after her program ends, she still has to leave the U.S. and can not apply for a visa (this time a wife's visa) only after her 2 years expire.

Marriage to a U.S. citizen is not a reason to get a 2 years waiver, under normal conditions, I mean no excessive hardship, etc.

[William3rd]

2 year return home requirement is just that- 2 years at home. Husband can file the I130 some time after the return home starts but she can not get another visa until after two years AT HOME has passed.

[Dave24]

 :)Hey, jh3!!  I'm  going  through  the same thing right now with a
RW that  magically appeared in my  e-mail one day.  Her name is
Ekaterina and she says she's from  Volzhsk.   We've  written back&
forth for a couple of weeks now. The pics she's sent are unbelieveable; she's gorgeous!!     I'm uncertain as to her
being "real".  A couple of times I've asked for more info (phone#,address,) and she doesn't  respond to that part of the
letter,  so I'm stuck. I'm just playing it by ear right now;  so should
you.  Soon as she asks for something(money,etc.) I might have to drop her,as much as I would hate to.So be careful!!  Keep me
informed as to what happens; I'll do the same...

                                               C-YA,

                                                       Dave24

[William3rd]

But does she respond to much of your letter at all? In order of subject? Generally or specifically? Immediately or later?

Magically appearing, eh?

Do you believe in fairy tales?

In this arena, they do not exist.

[Serebro]

Serebro,

How long did it take for you to get accepted to the program? Was it a difficult process?

I sent the documents to the agency in late January,
In April I got the contract
After that it took me one month to get a visa to the US.
It was J1/

[jh3]

Ok, a little more info... she hasn't called yet, though her last email said she would in the next couple of days. Nothing in the email seemed too unbelievable, other than she seemed to be getting awfully close considering we have only shared a few emails. Anyway, after I replied to her, I decided to check the IP addresses from her emails (she uses a Yahoo email account), and it came up as Sunnyvale, California! I had someone a little more computer savvy track it through another method, and actually came up with a physical address, which I did a reverse search on and came up with two names and phone numbers (neither sound remotely Russian). So...I'm guessing that either she is already in the US, or that she (or he for that matter) is using some kind of spyware and routing the email through some unsuspecting person in California. Two questions though- what would be the point of all that trouble for something so easy to find out (why not use a legit Russian IP if that is where she is), and isn't it a strange coincedence that Yahoo is based in Sunnyvale and that is the location of the IP address? I'm not very tech savvy with that sort of thing, but how would a legit Russian IP show up? I'm convinced this is a scam, but I'm curious now.

[groovlstk]

Anyway, after I replied to her, I decided to check the IP addresses from her emails (she uses a Yahoo email account), and it came up as Sunnyvale, California!

You're very likely looking at the IP address of Yahoo's mail server. And as far as getting her physical address through the IP (even if it's correct), it's impossible without full cooperation from Yahoo and they're not going to do it w/out a court order.

Post the full headers here, maybe someone like Bruno will help you out.

[macman]

I'd like to hear this reverse lookup. . . very difficult w/ email coming from Yahoo.  You will always see the Yahoo servers in Sunnyvale CA, but there is some other things within the header that refer to Russian connection.
Like internet provider, which BTW may possibly be the lookup.

not sure.
mm

[jh3]

via 206.190.36.234; Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:37:55 -0700
X-Originating-IP: [69.147.102.72]
Return-Path: <volkhov1977@yahoo.com>
Authentication-Results: mta481.mail.mud.yahoo.com from=yahoo.com; domainkeys=pass (ok)
Received: from 69.147.102.72 (HELO smtp109.plus.mail.re1.yahoo.com) (69.147.102.72) by mta481.mail.mud.yahoo.com with SMTP; Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:37:54 -0700
Received: (qmail 9777 invoked from network); 13 Jun 2007 09:37:48 -0000
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws; s=s1024; d=yahoo.com; h=Received:X-YMail-OSG:Date:From:X-Mailer:Reply-To:X-Priority:Message-ID:To:Subject:MIME-Version:Content-Type:Content-Transfer-Encoding; b=2ausPN9sFeXS5SuxOl4Jr6wmqX04RoIHCIYKC7QQKNqldxeBclu7elD8Hl0e5fKvW5OtKGGtbCNt7m2ck5g1k9LppH/DabREk6SWNrgeCtm3gGsPVgCUwajxGPSlsfkNMqQJjlbJc9Szu/fX/Iwml3j9qqLi+kiVEBbnpDQ6RkI= ;
Received: from unknown (HELO yahoo.com) (bbxzipo6@67.169.4.23 with plain) by smtp109.plus.mail.re1.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Jun 2007 09:37:46 -0000
X-YMail-OSG: MXz8EjMVM1mNZkRtSrXwty6.Nmb55eZ8XynA.Qr2HOgcFlKJ
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:14:34 +0400


Thanks,  I hope someone can make sense of all that!

[groovlstk]

You're getting all Yahoo data.

Sign up here for a free account, you can use it for a week free of charge, I think.

www.readnotify.com

[jh3]

ARIN lookup shows the originating IP as:

OrgName: Yahoo
OrgID: YHOO
Address: 701 First Ave
City: Sunnyvale
StateProv: CA
PostalCode: 94089
Country: US

NetRange: 69.147.64.0 - 69.147.127.255
CIDR: 69.147.64.0/18
NetName: A-YAHOO-US5
NetHandle: NET-69-147-64-0-1


This is what the friend came up with...I reverse searched the physical address, not the IP address, on 411.com to get names

[catzenmouse]

I've never seen a FSUW still living there with a Yahoo account. There may be some but it would be a stretch.

She won't answer about the contact info

She's getting close after a few letters

She super beautiful

Too good to be true?

I'd have to say yes. Very high percentage of a scammer but you can play it out for awhile to get the money shot.

Ken