It seems that reality of online dating has lead the majority of men to believe two completely opposite views on Russian women and money. Some think that Russian women do not care about the money, while others consider all Russian women scammers. The situation demands some further explanation.

Russia and Ukraine have been known for breeding a number of scam agencies, or individuals, who take advantage of foreign men, who try online dating in search of a partner.

The typical scenario is that you meet a beautiful woman (who will most certainly say she used to be a model in the past), who will woo you with her heartwarming affectionate letters, and once you get interested enough, she will tell you about all sorts of things that are preventing her from communicating with you (unpaid bills, high agency rates, sickness in family, etc), trying to get you to "save" the situation by sending some money. Some con-artists will keep the correspondence going until you start planning a meeting: in this case, some scammers will try to plan a meeting somewhere outside her hometown - she will obviously need you to send her some money to make all necessary arrangements; or she will suggest that she comes to visit you - in this situation she will need money for visa, passport, tickets, etc. Usually, after you send her money, you will never hear from her again.

A few simple rules can help you avoid such situations. First, never send money to women you do not know personally. Tickets can be arranged through a travel agency - you can check with them for refund policies to make sure you are the one who will get the money, should the ticket be cancelled. If your lady insists on buying the ticket from her home country because it is cheaper, or if she tells you that an agency has to handle all arrangements, it is a pretty certain sign of a scam. Before sending any money think carefully, do some research, and try to contact the agency to make sure that everything is legitimate. Most agencies offer services for helping book tickets and arrange travel, but it is never a must to use their services! Many scammers will turn the visa issue to their advantage by trying to create some stories as to why she needs you to send money for the visa (i.e. having an agency help her, etc). Embassies operate independently and no one can affect the decision for issuing visas! Visa fees are set (you can find this information on the embassy sites of the country, where they are located), and there should not be any large additional expenses with regard to the visa! It is also important to remember that Russian women can get guest/tourist visas to relatively few countries. For example, it is highly unlikely that your lady will be able to get such visa to the US or Canada; even Europe is not so easy to travel to anymore. Of course, any situation will require you to exercise sound judgment and common sense: some women can really be trying to be frugal and save you some expenses, but you will be better off double-checking the information before taking any action.

All agencies are well aware of scams, but only reliable agencies will take steps to protect their clients from such situations through careful screening of the ladies and asking clients to inform agency management if any woman ever asks for money to remove such ladies from their database. Besides, most scammers work independently, often using free Internet personal dating sites, where postings are free, as opposed to websites with membership packages, etc.

As any honest anti-scam advice will tell you, avoid women who sound too good. Most Russian women have difficulty expressing their emotions, especially given fairly low level of English, so if your lady writes you unbelievable letters, that burst with affection and make you melt - be cautious, until you speak with her on the phone, or in person, to make sure she really is that romantic, expressive, and affectionate. The aim of scammers is to involve you emotionally through letters. Such women will say all the right things, they will reply fast and write a lot, they will appeal to your ego, share stories of their life with you easily, and you are bound to become a man of their dreams very quickly, even without knowing too much about you.

Be cautious if a Russian bride much younger than you lavishes her affection upon you. This is not to say that a young woman can not be attracted to you, but when you are corresponding with someone over 15-20 years younger than you, you better be certain that this lady is genuine. Young women, who know English and have no kids can easily receive about 10 letters a day from men closer to their age. If you are writing to such a woman, ask yourself what her true interest to you is and if her reasons are believable.

So, what can you expect from ordinary Russian women, who are truly interested in finding someone to share their life with? First, they are not perfect. They will most likely not be able to reply to you daily (especially, several times a day!), as most women do not have easy access to the Internet, work full time, and have a house and a family to take care of. You will not get passionate confessions fast; in fact, you will probably have to do some work to get them to open up to you; she will not tell you she loves you at least until you have met in person.

Most Russian women are practical: living in a rather complex economic situation, having to work to make a living they are money conscious. And they will be interested in your financial situation, although with different motives and in different measure than scammers usually are. When genuine Russian women are looking for a life partner, they want to have security and stability. Average living standards in Europe and the US are much higher than standards in Russia, to Russian women a financially stable man is the one who has a stable, secure job, who owns a house, and can provide for the family. A woman, serious in her intentions, will certainly select a man based on much more than just an income, but it will be an important factor to consider for building a family in future. It is a natural response, as potential marriage to a foreigner means moving abroad, without having a job or knowing if she can find one.

However, such financial stability consciousness does not mean you should try to impress a woman with the size of your bank account. This will most likely cause a negative reaction and you risk being considered too materialistic. Russian women want to feel emotional security and affection no less than to know you can take care of her and your family.