Advice from the pros (online)

[papi]

* NEVER send cash to anyone who you met online, but have not yet met in person.
* Common examples of scams include requests for money for  payments for large items such as plane tickets, legal fees, visa fees, medical expenses, marriage annulment fees etc.
* If you ever consider assisting someone in another country who you met online to visit you then first check their visa eligibility with your Immigration department.
* NEVER send cash for someone from another country to  purchase a plane ticket, pay for visa or legal costs or anything else associated with a visit to you. If you feel you must assist this person then always buy the ticket yourself directly on the behalf of the visitor and check the ticket can be refunded in case you need to cancel it.
* Similarly, if you must pay for visa fees, annulment fees or other large expenses always pay the expense directly after you have verified the invoice and organization issuing the invoice is genuine.
* Some people in developing countries may ask for small amounts of money to pay for internet access or phone costs for communicating with you. We recommend never sending money to anyone who you have not yet met in person.
* Be suspicious of people who appear to be overly persistent or aggressive in their requests for money.
* Be particularly suspicious of people who request more money as soon as you send something.

[utopiacowboy]

I sent my wife $20 for a web cam before I met her in person. She followed through on her word and that $20 was about the best $20 I ever spent.

[jediknight]

right on cowboy, never say never as there are always exceptions. saying never limits your possibilities, takes away your responsibilty to use your best judgement, to use common sense and puts the blame on everyone else but yourself. i sent my wife a stuffed animal and a $25 cell phone when we started communicating with each other and here we are 2 years later happy as can be. guys, don't limit yourself. sending gifts or money is alright before meeting someone as long as you keep things in perspective, use your head, ask the right questions and trust your feelings. if it doesn't feel right, if she is inconsistent with the things she says, etc then don't send her anything.

[bundy_138]

OK, if money, gifts, or material items is the topic of the first, second, or third conversation............doesn't a red flag wave frantically in your face?  I sent my novia some cash to pick up her x-mas gift from DHL and she was pissed (in a good way).  I knew her for 4 months and she never, ever, ever asked for anything.  To this day she hasn't asked for anything. 

Use your head (the one on your shoulders) and you will be fine. 

Bundy

[Jeff S]

If the object here is to find an marry a foreign bride, aren't the "old pros" the unsuccessful ones? So, why should someone listen to an old pro? If I wanted to learn how to catch fish for instance, should I listen to the guy who'd been fishing for many years and never caught one, or to the guy who's only gone a couple times and has come home with fish?

[papi]

If the object here is to find an marry a foreign bride, aren't the "old pros" the unsuccessful ones?

I disagree:

1. first of all the info i provided was from online experts, not me
2. you can learn from peoples mistakes who are willing to share those
3. depends what you call success. Going after big game can be more difficult than shooting squirrels. Some guys don't want to settle for average
4. some of those old pros might be having a damn good time and not sure when/if they will settle.

[william3rd]

I sent my wife $20 for a web cam before I met her in person. She followed through on her word and that $20 was about the best $20 I ever spent.

That was a wise investment. Sometimes 20 bucks can save you thousands. Even a month's worth of English lessons can be a measure as well.  A small gift can also put you above the other contestants.

[bundy_138]

Yeah papi, Ray is just messing with you because he knows it gets to you.  Don't get banned from here for something stupid.  Believe it or not, you do offer some pretty good insight.


Hey Jeff S.   I learned what I know from the "old pros" on here, Papi being the main one, and I hooked the perfect fish on my first trip.  It all comes from being open, honest and listening to others.  Some stuff said here is worthless, other stuff is gold.  Be selective.

Bundy

[zappa]

hello/hola

each culture and society have own characteristics and peculiar details. So what can be "scammers" in europe or in asian cultures can not be in latin countries.
about "send money" i agree. nobody , who is honest would ask for money for stranger man , yes before meet in person , we are all strangers.Besides love without language does not exist. So one of the couple must learn other language. And nobody love before meet face to face . however it is normal have attraction.
Well and about their profile and pictures ?
could we trust in a profile where the girls seek men up to 20 or 30 years older than them? or where they are in a public profile with a hot low neck or in bathsuit/bikini?

[Jeff S]

I was just having fun, and not necessarily pointing the finger at you Papi. I enjoy your posts a lot. I was implying what bundy said - you have to separate the wheat from the chaff, and just because someone has made a dozen trips to the happy hunting grounds, it doesn't mean everything they say is sooth. You might be better off to pay more attention to someone whose only been there once or twice and has bagged their trophy big game.

Here we go again with the age thing. A hot 40 year old widow in a bikini willing to settle for someone up to 65 is probably not a scammer. I have a good friend who just turned 80 and is in great shape and still works every day. Last year he married a 58 year old Mexicana and they're both delierously happy. To quote Patrick, if you're a fat balding 50 something Walmart greeter who can't get a date in the US, there's no way a young 20s hardbody in another country wants you for anything other than a greencard or money. If you're a fit and together middle aged man, a 20 year difference doesn't automatically signal scam. Millions of happy couples all over the world prove that - rich, poor and in between.

[zappa]

i have never seen a teenager girl who love a poor much older man