OK, who's dating Sveta?

[Ryan]

... in response to Re: Re: Ryan, what is your opinion here?, posted by Jack on Sep 10, 2002

Well said.  Again I ask myself why to I even bother to post….You’re the man Jack!
I’m serious…

[BURKE89]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Ryan, what is your opinion h..., posted by Ryan on Sep 11, 2002

What a transformation... friggin' priceless.

Regards,

Vaughn

[johnnydudeman]

... in response to Hmm... from retard to sycophant in 8-12 ..., posted by BURKE89 on Sep 11, 2002

Burke got it right

[BURKE89]

... in response to astute observation...and funny  NT, posted by johnnydudeman on Sep 14, 2002

Johnny D.,
I'm glad somebody picked up on the quip... The "Islam" thread got popped, before I could read much or even chose sides. Chill on MarkInTx... He's the searcher.( I don't know what transpired after the first 10 pops.) He is always fair and honest in his evaluations of the boards Dresden's. (IMHO)  
Rodney (Vaughn) King

PS. Ever been to Kazan?

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Too quick..., posted by BURKE89 on Sep 14, 2002

I read it when I was on the way out the door... so couldn't comment...

Your problem was that you used the word: sycophant which is way too sophisticated for the board :-)

But, very poignant post... would be funnier if it weren't so true...

[Jack]

... in response to OK, who's dating Sveta?, posted by Streetwise on Sep 8, 2002

Let's see here,....Absolute Agency,...Lugansk,... everything is fine up to the time the man is to travel to see her,...no telephone number ... no flat address (after three months!), hummmph,let me think about this for a second?

If you were not going to see her for another three months from now, she would still be available and writing you. Oasis would still be translating letters for you and her, and charging her for e-mail access, etc.

But when the guy is only a few weeks from arriving, the gig is about up, they can't scam him anymore, Sveta it is time for you to tell him you have found someone else. This way Sveta, if you do it like this, it will appear legit and no one can say Oasis was part of the scam. They cover there ass this way, since Streetwise will never be able to really reach Sveta, he never got her home addres, phone number and probably a false last name. Then again, Sveta probably really never existed.

Streetwise, e-mail Sveta's whole name as you know it. I have good contacts in Lugansk and I can findout if this woman, or a woman with this name, lives in Novosvetlovka.

[Oscar]

... in response to hummph, let me think about this for a se..., posted by Jack on Sep 8, 2002

.

[Jack]

... in response to But Jack, why did they delete her profil..., posted by Oscar on Sep 8, 2002

Oscar, they have to delete her profile, remember, she found someone!  But it is not to hard to delete the profile of someone who never existed!!!!!!

The smarter scammer agency are trying to think this thru! Once caught they have to change there name and start over and they hate having to change there names all the time.

[Pordzhik]

... in response to OK, who's dating Sveta?, posted by Streetwise on Sep 8, 2002

I take it that was you on the Brama board a few days ago? Was you really going without an address and telephone number?

Still never mind? You've got that visa for six months yet, time to peruse some more profiles.

[Streetwise]

... in response to Re: OK, who's dating Sveta?, posted by Pordzhik on Sep 8, 2002

Yes, it was me alright. She said she didn't have a phone (which I suppose is pretty rare, even in Ukraine). I did ask the agency for her postal address when the emails dried up, but no joy. The more I think of it, the Agency is at the bottom of it all...

the local "translation agency" was called Oasis Women's Club and the initial contact was through the infamous "Absolute Agency"

Anyway, as you say I have the 6 months visa (double-entry) so I gues I'll still be heading out there some time.

[BubbaGump]

... in response to OK, who's dating Sveta?, posted by Streetwise on Sep 8, 2002

The Absolute Agency doesn't have a great reputation with this board.  What are your experiences with them good and bad.  I see your girl's bio has been pulled from the Absolute Agency web site.  

I've had the same thing happen to me with a girl in Belarus.  I planned my trip, her emails started bouncing back, I cancelled my trip, and then she starts asking me when I'm coming.  I started planning a second trip to meet her, then she stops writing again, so I cancelled my trip again, then she starts writing me again asking when I'm coming.  These gilrls just don't know we can't just pick up and go on short notice.  

[Streetwise]

... in response to What's been your experience with Absolut..., posted by BubbaGump on Sep 8, 2002

Absolute defintitely requires caution; the only thing I can't work out is, whether they are dishonest themselves, or whether it's the other Micky Mouse "agencies" who use their website as a shop window. Absolute replied to my email when I complained, saying that they don't permit other agencies to work through their site, but admitted that it's hard to keep on top of the situation with 100's of new profiles coming through each week. Straight after our correspondence, Profile A2324939 disappeared from their site, so they seem to have taken notice of the complaint, which is at least something in their favour.  

I got scammed last year by a girl from the Absolute website (but the translation agency in the middle was Socrat2001, that's where all the emails went through for translation). The $20 monthly subscription for unlimited email contact on the Absolute website sounds great for contacting large numbers at the beginning, and I have had about 40-50% response rate which was surprising, but I think it is false economy.

I think some of the profiles are real, but don't wait as long as I did before verifying her address / telephone number.

[Pordzhik]

... in response to Re: What's been your experience with Abs..., posted by Streetwise on Sep 8, 2002

What was your experience with the scam girl from last year? and your conclusions now?

[Streetwise]

... in response to Oh no!, posted by Pordzhik on Sep 9, 2002

It was kind of complicated, but it went like this: I contacted 2 girls through Absolute Agency (Tanya and Angelina) and after 2 months arranged to meet them in Ukraine. Tanya was from Lugansk, and Angelina was from Stahanov (spitting distance from Lugansk I believe). Anyway, the deal was that I would meet them both in Kiev (separate days of course).

Both girls were corresponding through separate local translation agencies (socrat2001 and alsiaonline).

Angelina said she needed some help with travel costs Lugansk-Kiev ($120) which I though was fair enough. After 2 months correspondence, and having little awareness of scammers, I was comfortable with that. As for Tanya, that was a similar situation, but in her case the cost was $160. I was so sure that between the two of them I would find THE ONE that I didn't mind the cost and it certainly beat the prospect of a cross-country trip to Lugansk (wasting 20 hours or more each way on a train).

Angelina was due to arrive first. She didn't. I managed to contact the agency by email from Internet Cafe in Kiev, and they told me she had definitely come to meet me. I left them my contact details and also contacted them on several occasions but Angelina was never to be heard from again.

Tanya also failed to arrive as planned; she had only given the the day of the flight, and that it would arrive early in the morning, so I checked with the airport only to find that there was no flight from Lugansk on that day. Amazingly, I received a call from Tanya that evening (I had left my contact details with her agency). After giving her directions (she was in a car approaching Kiev) Tanja actually arrived at my apartment in the evening. It seems that she could not fly because she did not have a passport. It seemed strange that she should realise this only at the last moment! The first thing she said to me was that the car journey cost $250. You guessed it - she needed another $90 from me to pay the driver! The interesting thing was, she insisted on taking the money and getting into the car to pay the driver herself, she did not want me to do it. But that might just be suspicion on my part; a taxi from Lugansk to Kiev probably would cost this much, at least.

My first impression of Tanya was that she did not look like her photo, apart from a similar build and long blonde hair; but at the time I put this down to studio effects for her photo. She still looked attractive, but different.  

Then I found her a hotel (she was not inclined to share my apartment on the first night of our meeting, which I understood).

We spent a couple of days together, communicating reasonably well in my pigeon Russian and her pigeon English, and I found her gracious, feminine and gentle natured, if a little shy. She seemed a somewhat younger than the age posted on the profile. When it was time for her to leave, I had discovered a very good option for her journey; a high-speed coach service called "Autolux" which uses modern coaches, with refreshments, TV etc. Obviously safer than being alone with a stranger in a car for several hours. But it was strange that she did not seem very pleased with this option. The train was impossible because she would need a passport due to local regulations in the  country. Anyway, the bus was due to leave from the central station at 1700; at 1600 we headed back to my apartment from the city centre (she had left her baggage there after checking out of the hotel). I suggested we get a taxi on the way to the apartment, as there were no taxis to be found near the apartment; but she insisted that she should phone for a taxi when we got to the apartment.

You guessed it! The taxi was late, it did not arrive until 1615, and we headed off through very heavy traffic to the bus station. Of course, she missed the bus. So what to do? She had a discussion with the car driver in Russian, and then proposed to me that she should take the taxi to her home in Lugansk! Another $150!!

I had to fly home and my conscience would not allow me to leave her alone in the city; so I had no choice, I paid her $150. She was sorry for all the problems; she also said that she would call me when she got home, and also send me an email. That was yesterday (I have not heard from her). Another interesting thing was my journey to the airport for my flight home; my car passed by the central Bus Station, and it was only 10 minutes from the apartment, by a different road!

When I got home myself, I was going through the website of the "Absolute Agency" where I first saw Tanja’s profile. As I said, Tanja was attractive, but although pictures can be deceptive, she somehow did not look quite like the picture on the website (she was similar). This is when I discovered her photo (the girl I met in Kiev) listed several times separately under a different name, “Allina.” I looked again at the original profile of “Tanja” and realised that it did not look at all like the girl I met in Kiev. The other interesting thing was that the three separate profiles of Allina all carried photos of the woman I met in Kiev, but each had different words (and different height measurements!) 1559352, 1568896, 1611275 were the profile numbers for Allina. The lady I expected to meet (Tanja) was 1474850 and she also appeared as 1611327 (but thankfully with the same picture and info).

Of course, I was now very confused!I contacted Socrat2001 first and gave them both barrels regarding Angelina. They blamed the girl herself and said they would speak to her mother about recovering the money I'd sent her. BS! I have since seen Angelina Tsebeko (and Socrat2001) exposed on internet noticeboards by other scam victims whose circumstances were similar to mine. I have also come across other scam victims who received a letter from a different girl through Socrat2001 - and the letter was identical to that which I had received from Angelina.

I didn't even bother to follow up the Tanja fiasco with the other agency, but I did maintain contact with the girl I met in Kiev, and now addressed her by her proper name, Alina. She seemed genuinely embarrassed and it seems that she had no idea what was going on. My letters to Tanja had obviously been steered in her direction by the agency (presumably with the necessary editing). Bizarre! She seemed genuinely angry with the agency, as I was. We tried to keep in touch (without the agency; she borrowed a PC in her friend's workplace from time to time, but the messages were only one-liners due to language barrier). Although she was "forced" on me she had actually grown on me a bit over a couple of days. I actually heard from her not long ago; she emailed me from the Dominican Republic (what is that all about??!!)        

I did have some free time whilst in Kiev, and I did meet other ladies through local Kiev based agencies which cannot be compared with those desperados in Lugansk. One example was the "Excellence" agency (opposite the opera house) with decent well equipped offices, up to date catalogues (including videos and photograph/videocam facilities), translators, and a constant stream of respectable looking ladies popping in to register or check their contacts / profiles. Yes, they all get interviewed and the staff there seem very genuine when adising you as to various women's character, how well they know them etc.  

My conclusions? Make sure you have DIRECT contact with ladies (with phone numbers/addresses) before committing time or money (obvious now). And given the choice, use agencies whose offices you can actually visit to see the set-up (not so easy outside Kiev, but not all the girls in the Kiev agencies are from Kiev anyway).
   

[Oatmeal]

... in response to Re: Oh no!, posted by Streetwise on Sep 9, 2002

That I have so much inside info on these situations.
Maybe the saying that it is a small world really is true.

In any case here is more dirt for those who must survive on gossip.

As it turns out a friend on mine who I first met on an Anastasia social actually ended up marrying the owner of Excellence marriage agency in Kiev.  (Her name is Mila)

Since Mila came to America with her teenage daughter she turned the company over to her ex-husband I believe.

Mila came to America, married this guy, and a few months later has left him and moved in with some friends she made and accused him of abuse.

she also accused him of delving in child porn.  Fed agents actually came to his home and took his computer to check it out and returned it a while later saying that it was clean.

In any case, he has really been turned on his ear.

I am not saying that Excellence is necessarily a crooked agency and actually I almost ended up marrying a girl from this agency, who I still feel is a really sweet and sincere girl who has a lot to offer.

I just thought that this might be interesting to carefully consider the concequences of a bad choice (which could also include the owners of the agencies themselves).

My luck to everyone still out there still in search of the love of their lives.