... in response to Yes, you have given us something to thin..., posted by juio99 on Nov 16, 2002I very much agree that we should be cautious in our dealings with the ladies of the FSU.
In my experience though, caution can be exercised with tact. When an RW asked for money for a trip from me, I explained that we only knew each other via a few correspondences and that I would not feel comfortable sending her money until after we had met and gotten to know each other better. She was understanding and our relationship has progressed nicely. Maybe I was just lucky.
I continue to believe that honesty is the best policy. That we should grant the ladies of the FSU the same courtesy that we would give to our mothers, sisters and work colleagues. I choose to believe that they are honest, sincere, considerate people until proven otherwise.
I also believe that in our western society the proportion of woman who would happily take an AM for all he is worth is probably the same as in the FSU.
I also believe that a lot of the "scams" I see described on this forum could be explained by language and cultural misunderstandings rather than nefarious behavior. Let's not jump to conclusions. DO NOT send money but give them a chance to understand our concerns and explain. That is not being a "patsy."
When it is proven that they are "scammers" then expose them and "Black List" them.