Dishonesty
There are degrees of dis-honesty (let's face it - we all do it!).
There is the occasional woman who misrepresents her age and especially the ones who withhold the fact that they have children. These two things are very common but are soon found out.
More serious are the ladies who send pictures which are not their own. If a woman is eager to find a husband, but is not very attractive, one might understand her motivation. Again she will get caught - eventually..
These women are sincere in their desire for a permanent relationship, but just a little silly in their methods.
More dangerous are the women who are insincere as well as dishonest. These are the scam artists, who are looking for something other than a relationship, and the ones who have money on their mind. The scam artists will all try, sooner or later to part you with your money. These women may or may not be interested in marriage. More on scams below.
Stunning Women
Many of the available women are both young and attractive. There's no reason to shy away from a woman who writes to you just because you think she is far better looking than anyone interested in you ought to be. On the other hand, the ones who are in the scam business will almost always send you photos that look exceptionally attractive. A professionally taken photo should at least put you on the alert. Ask for more photos to gain the real picture.
Be on the alert for a woman who seems exceptional and starts showing too much interest in you too fast. She may be the scam artist. Get more photos ( a good trick is to send her a gift and ask for a photo with her wearing it!!) In fact you can't even be sure that the person on the other end is really a woman. It could be a man, posing as a woman to see what he can get out of suckers who send money. Of course don't ever assume that just because a woman doesn't look like an actress or model that she is honest. Con artists come in every kind of package.
Don't assume she's dishonest just because she's beautiful. If the tone of her letters seems to be honest and above board, don't assume she is dishonest..
The Motivation is Money.
When you consider that the income of many women is around $6 a week or $30 a month it is not surprising that some resort to scams.
It's easy. Do Not send money. Go to the trouble of getting stamps of her country (from stamp dealers) to help with postage and then you need not send money.
Suppose you get serious with a woman who lives in a country where she can easily get a tourist visa to visit you. Then suppose she suggests that she would like to come, but the flight costs $1,500 and the visa costs $800. Can you send money for my visa? How about splitting the fare? So then you agree and send her $1,550 and that's the last you ever hear from her or your money.
If in any doubt about her honesty you shouldn't have got this far but if you have, then pay for her visa costs at your own immigration and send the receipt to your embassy in her country.
Buy her tickets on a no-refund basis and have her pick them up at the airline office.
Simple rule - any time a woman asks you for a substantial amount of money you should refuse, without exception, until you really know her well.
It is just common courtesy to help her with postage but remember that if she's so poor that she needs your help just to carry on extended letter writing with you then she's also so poor that not only she but her entire extended family will probably become a constant source of financial drain... There is nothing wrong with that as long as you are aware of the ramifications, and you are willing to happily help out (and can afford to.) Family is very strong, particularly in Asian countries. So be aware of that.
Be careful of any woman who portrays herself as a victim of any kind. These are the ones to simply drop. Many scam artists will portray themselves as a victim to divert your suspicion from the scam. Whether or not she's really a victim isn't important. You probably don't want to marry someone with a "victim" complex, be it real or perceived.
Avoid women who are too keen, to soon.
Be suspicious if you're an ordinary guy and any woman who seems to be out of your league starts to come on strong. Most foreign women don't come on strong, particularly the ones who are serious about finding a husband. Also be suspicious of anyone who tries to get you to come to visit her country too soon, or who tells you that she would prefer to meet you face to face rather than write letters. Never agree to go and visit anyone until after you and she have carried on a lengthy and extensive correspondence.
Just because she never openly asks you for money (or any other kind of favor) does not necessarily mean that she's not a con artist. Some of the cleverest ones can find ways to get you to send them money without ever asking for it. Just be aware.. If all else fails, trust your instincts. Of course be wary of a woman who makes reference to some other man who is supposedly eager to send her money for a visit, but she really doesn't want to accept his money because she really prefers you. That other man probably doesn't exist and all she wants is you to send money to her. After you do, you'll probably never hear from her again.
A good way to test a woman's sincerity is to offer to go and visit her. If she reacts favorably to such an idea, and begins to help you in making plans for such a trip, she is probably sincere. Beware of any woman who begins backtracking upon hearing that you want to visit her. This is a good tip that she's not everything she claims to be. My advice is never have the woman visit you first. Always plan to go and see her first.
One cute scam is the currency collector. Beware of anyone who claims to be a collector of foreign currency. A person who enters into correspondence with several hundred men and gets each of them to send her a one, five, ten or twenty dollar bill could be raking in enough to make the enterprise very worthwhile. Let's see... twenty dollars multiplied by three hundred suckers... that's six thousand dollars.
The Agencies.
In my experience nearly all the agencies on the Internet are honest ethical enterprises. Many are just gateways to larger agencies, so check this before joining too many. Check the 'date last accessed' when browsing photos and profiles. Steer clear of those who have printed catalogues. Many of the girls on their pages have been in catalogues sold by the thousands. Keep your eyes open and you'll get a feel for the one's to avoid. If the agency pages push 'sex' and give the impression that they are "selling" the women on their books - forget them. They are unlikely to be in the business of truly trying to successfully match couples. (A classic is the company who also sell videos of naked Filipino girls who were obviously paid a lot to take their clothes off and were clearly very embarrassed.)
Agencies are in business to make a profit. They run advertising in foreign countries to find women interested in seeking American husbands. They invite such women to write to them describing themselves, the kind of man they would like to find and to enclose a photo. They do not charge these women anything for this. They sort through all the letters they receive and publish catalogs at regular intervals, generally every two or three months. Many also publish on the Internet. The way these companies make their money is by selling the addresses to interested men... like you. The going rate is $10.00 to $15.00 for one address. But that's not the way to buy addresses. All the good companies also offer tremendous volume discounts. With most of them you can buy a six month or one year "subscription." This gets you all the names and addresses they publish for that period. Remember you will probably need to send at least fifty letters if you choose to seek your love by mail.
In recent years, the demand for foreign wives by American and other Western men has risen dramatically as it becomes more "respectable." In part, this has been fueled by the worldwide collapse of communism and the disappearance of the Soviet Union. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the fastest growing segment of the bride-by-mail movement has been Caucasian women from Russia, Ukraine and other countries of Eastern Europe. Many of the newer matchmaking businesses are set up around this new pool of available Russian women and offer a variety of services.
Conclusion.
Please do not read into this article that "most foreign women are scammers." This is simply not the case. Just as many Western women are as devious as those from any other country. In all my dealings over the years I have only struck half a dozen really dis-honest women.
The only method of finding a prospective foreign wife I recommend is the one which involves an extended period of letter writing (or email) and telephone calls prior to a man going to the woman's country to meet her. It's perfectly OK for a matchmaking company to offer additional services, such as packaged trips and so on, to its clients. However it's my opinion that a company should operate in such a way that you can first correspond by mail with a fairly large number of different women, do so at a reasonable price, and for several months prior to taking your trip. In addition, an ethical company does not pressure its male clients to take these trips and junkets as an alternative to the lengthy letter writing process. I strongly believe that the odds are against finding a lasting and happy relationship by this method.
If you work out the figures it is fairly clear that you will spend a very large amount of time and hundreds of dollars to find your soulmate by yourself.
let me do all the work and really care about you (and your prospective bride)
The Complete Guide to Scams..