Information on Safe Migration
We promote the role of women in society,
revealing her personal potential, professionally
assisting in the realization of civil and social rights
revealing her personal potential, professionally
assisting in the realization of civil and social rights
Meeting a foreigner online — potential pitfalls
For many women, the only opportunity to meet a foreign husband is to get to know each other online. This is especially true for women who live in small towns and do not have the opportunity to travel abroad.
In this article, we want to introduce you to the rules that will help protect yourself from dishonest people when meeting on the Internet, as women often encounter scammers.
Here are some signs by which you can recognize a scammer:
- They ask you to pay for something expensive, such as air tickets, visa fees, etc., or ask for help with transferring money to deposits or pay for the delivery of any goods. They inform you about an unforeseen personal crisis or ask to lend them money for treatment, a lawyer, a trip, and so on. We recommend never lending money to people you have just met, no matter what they tell you.
- Be careful when you are given abstract answers to specific questions (for example, work, interests) or are told stories containing contradictions or exaggerations.
- You should also be wary if someone "falls in love" with you in a few weeks and invites you to visit or go to a resort. Of course, he promises to pay for everything, you just need to deposit the money right now, otherwise the meeting will be missed. After depositing the required amount, contact with the scammer suddenly breaks off and he no longer gets in touch. Usually, such people seem implausibly positive.
- You may be sent an expensive gift, a monetary transfer, but then "something goes wrong": it turns out that the admirer did not have enough money for delivery, he forgot to pay for it, a hefty fee is required to receive the money and they ask you to pay customs duties, delivery or other fees.
- In pursuit of romantic love, girls who make acquaintances with boys on the Internet can fall into real sexual slavery. This international problem does not lose its relevance. Online, traffickers feel quite comfortable and lure their victims with promises of prestigious, highly paid work or marriage to a rich foreigner.
Criminals are very inventive and use various methods to get their victim.
There are a number of specific rules for communicating online that help girls avoid unpleasant or dangerous situations. We highlight the main ones:
- First, read reviews about the site, look at its design, and the presence of complete contact information. Do not give your full contact information right away in correspondence.
- You should not rush to share your home address or phone number. It is better to start with general information — email, maximum Skype.
- Try to verify all information about a new online acquaintance. Pay attention to all the details. Criminals often make mistakes in small things. To uncover a lie, ask as many questions as possible about the pen pal's relatives. If a person is lying, inconsistencies in the details will give them away.
- Do not send anyone money. As already mentioned, scammers have many ways to extort money. If the topic of money comes up in online correspondence and requests are made to send a certain amount for anything, this is a clear sign that it is wiser to stop communicating with the "pen pal".
- Do not send your intimate photos. Even if requests to share intimate selfies are very настойчивы and accompanied by promises like "everything will remain between us, no one will see this," it's better not to give in to persuasion.
Safety tips for meeting foreigners:
- After you have gotten to know each other and are ready to meet in person, invite them to visit you in your country. If they are sincere towards you, they will not be able to refuse. If you decide to go to them, meet in a neutral location – in a third country.
- Never give anyone your passport. Always keep a copy of your passport in case you lose it.
- Have money with you. Take a credit card with you in case of unforeseen situations (for example, if your money is stolen). Also take some cash with you, but not a large amount.
- Tell your loved ones where you are going and how they can contact you. Provide information about the person you are meeting. Throughout your trip, stay in touch with someone from home: call when you arrive at your destination; call when you are going to meet the man in person for the first time, and also after this meeting. Stay in touch and remember to call if you have agreed on how often you will be in touch.
- Come up with a code word that you can use if something goes wrong and you are being forced to say that everything is fine.
Be attentive to yourself and your loved ones. Show caution and vigilance, because this is the only way to protect yourself from problems and not become victims of online dating.
Finally, we want to wish everyone good communication and useful, interesting acquaintances!
