# From Russia with love **URL:** \ **Category:** Russian relationships\ **Created:** [June 25, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248 "2025-06-25T15:29:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/1 "2025-06-25T15:29:30Z")
I have recently met a woman through email, well she found me and I have no idea where I knew her from. Her email started like this: “I guess you do not remember me since you don’t answer me.” She replied with a picture of a beautiful woman. I replied back with a single line thinking she was a catfish, “Of course I do!” Her next letter she introduces herself and expresses interest in a serious relationship. So I answer back another single line, “Yes, you are very beautiful. Where are you from?” She replied back in an email I must have unfortunately deleted because I was not really interested in talking to a catfish after all. May 23rd was the last time I wrote to her so Monday May 26th I received this: **“I looked again to see your letter and your reply, but again I received nothing. I was so hoping that you would answer me. Why are you silent? Is it really so difficult for you to write? I thought that our intentions for each other coincided, but if I was wrong and you do not want to continue our communication, tell me about it directly. Do not leave me waiting. I really would like to know you better and I hope that you will find time to write to me.”** I did not reply, and then I received a second email from her stating her disappointment in not hearing from me on May 27th. I finally decided to write her back on the 28th. “My sincere apologies dear. I’ve been a little bit busy and also dealing with a bit of stress being in my house all alone. I’m currently trying to get back to work. I’ve been on a medical leave. I meant to respond to your other message before but I got tied up with some stuff. I will go back and read that now. Thank you for the beautiful pictures of you.” Of course this was an excuse to save face. Then I received the next email talking more in depth about herself. She lives in Russia, in a small provincial town of Znamensk, which is located in the Astrakhan region. She wrote: **“I have never been married, although once I almost decided to take this step. But, fortunately, I realized in time that it was not my mistake. We have a saying: “The windshield is big because the future requires a full view, and the rearview mirror is small because the past needs to be remembered, but it is not worth looking at, it is behind us.” Do you agree with this? Now I work at a school as a specialist in the education of children with disabilities, in particular, children with cerebral palsy. I have my own class, in which there are 25 children. I really like my job, although it requires a lot of effort and attention. Each child is a special world, and each one requires an individual approach. It is not always easy, but when I see them smiling, it brings me incredible happiness and strengthens my belief that I am in the right place! I will not burden you with a lot of text now.. And I want to know your desire and intentions! Do you want the same … I am waiting for you! Your friend”** Since then, we have been exchanging email, I remained cautious through it all but it started becoming more romantic with each letter. I asked her for information, where she lived and her phone number. She gave me this information stating how disappointed she was that instead of replying to her last letter I only asked her a question but nothing else. I felt bad because I know I did her wrong. Just because she did not give me this answer in the previous letter I wrote her which was a long letter in her defense, did not give me the right to be so direct with her. I profusely apologized to her in my next letter, somewhat becoming emotionally involved at this point yet still with much caution. Each letter I received she was falling more in love with me. I only usually heard from her on the weekdays because the library where she used a computer to read my letters and respond to me was not open on Saturday and Sunday. I grew more dependent on her letters each day. I did research on every bit of information I received from her, where she lived, her exact address was impossible to find on Google maps. However the country, region, street name and even her zip code checked out. I guess Google has limited access to specific information in Russia except for public places such as the library. Fast forward to a few days ago, she stated she wants to come visit me. This blows my mind because of course I still held doubts about the legitimacy of this whole thing. She said she asked her boss for permission and that he gave her the ok to do so and he suggested she use the travel agency he used. She said she wanted to come tomorrow but it was a Friday and I knew this would not happen so quick. We write a little more back and forth and yesterday she said she was going to go see the travel agent that day. Her last letter today she was very upset. She found out that it was far more complicated than she and I even realized. She called herself stupid and asked for my forgiveness and that she deceived me thinking that we would be able to see each other soon. She said the cost was so high she almost fainted and she thought she had enough in savings to come here but even if she sold her house with her mother she still wouldn’t have enough to come to see me. I am here now reading her letter with tears in my eyes. By this time I know everything is true, no inconsistencies in her story, the people in her life, her friends and the situation with the library. Everything checks out. I know I have deeply fallen in love with her and she has fallen for me. She wanted just to visit and go back for final goodbyes to her friends and family and come back to start her life with me. From the looks of it though if she did somehow manage to get here it would be a one way trip and we would have to get married which we definitely do want to get married. The problem is, for her to even get a fiancé visa, we would have had to have met face to face at least once. So the reason for this incredibly long post I am asking for any information on what we could do to bring us together. I truly love this woman with all my heart and would do almost anything to bring her to America. Thanks, Carl ---
**Author:** ![swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/u/swede28)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 5:51pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/2 "2025-06-25T17:51:36Z")
You’re being scammed, she’s asking you for money with an elaborate reason as to why. I suggest you stop communicating with this person. This is a common scam and I warn you. If my warning still doesn’t help, offer to come to her instead, see her reaction. Don’t give her your money. A travel agency is not that expensive, and if you live in EU or America it’s unlikely she could even get a Visa in the first place. Your first instinct was correct ---
**Author:** ![swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/u/swede28)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/3 "2025-06-25T17:53:25Z")
And the reason she can’t contact you on the weekends is because that’s her days off most likely from working on this scam. Everyone has a phone nowadays, I bet you she would have one too. If you haven’t even video called her ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/4 "2025-06-25T22:35:36Z")
@swede28 I understand what you are saying, she has not asked for money. There was not even a mention of money from her. You really think that she’s playing the long game? Especially when so many money services have closed access. Everything I have read indicates sending money from America to Russia is very difficult. I have been scammed before, I know the tactics scammers use from the lack of access to a phone to the fast paced relationship. On a teacher’s salary and with phone plans being so expensive I can kind of buy that especially when I see how expensive the phone plans are in Russia. And also, just taking a flight from here without the aid of a travel agent it is crazy expensive. But you are probably right. How does one send pictures of themselves from a public library computer in Znamensk. I guess one can upload them from a camera. It is possible it could be a scam based on that and that and she’s careful not to ask for money till she is sure she has me in her web of deceit. It isn’t that she doesn’t have a phone. What she has is not set up for international calls and she gave me her number. She even claimed she found out she could call me on a payphone from in Astrakhan. That she has to find out how she can. But, not long after that she said she wanted to come to America to see me and then a few days later telling me she will go to see a travel agent only to write me the next day expressing her grief because it was too expensive. So with the cost of flying to the closest connecting stop that will fly from Kazakhstan to America I understand there is extra money involved to get a flight from Kazakhstan to America. Plus there are visas and documents to consider. This is what I found online: Using a Travel Agent: Travel agents can help with the visa application process, flight bookings, and potentially accommodation. However, they will likely charge additional fees for their services, which can vary widely. Some travel agencies specialize in visa processing for specific nationalities, including Russian citizens. Example: A Russian citizen seeking a tourist visa to the US might incur the following: Visa fee: $185, according to the [USEmbassy.gov](http://USEmbassy.gov). Flight: $800 (example). Travel agent fees: This can vary greatly, potentially $100-$500 or more. Other expenses: Accommodation, food, transportation, etc. In summary, while the base visa application fee is $185 for a tourist visa, the total cost for a Russian citizen to travel to the US can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the chosen method of travel, visa type, and whether they use a travel agent, according to Rome2Rio and VisaGuide.World. ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/5 "2025-06-25T22:36:54Z")
I was also thinking of traveling to Russia myself to meet her. If I tell her that is my plan that will definitely expose her. ---
**Author:** ![NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/u/NorseVictory)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/6 "2025-06-25T23:06:38Z")
Long term romance scam. Russians have to go to Poland or some other country to get a US visa. Fairly soon she will be asking about bitcoin.. Its easier to send via crypto than transferring money. My guess is if you look up her phone number - its not going to come back to her town / region. Also use yandex - [Russian Google] So you received a unsolicited email from a Russian “female” - that you haven’t known from any other website… dating app or whatever.. 99.99% sure its a scam. Russian women would not do this culturally - especially from a small town. ---
**Author:** ![NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/u/NorseVictory)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/7 "2025-06-25T23:17:53Z")
You can also have a video chat instead of a pay phone - use telegram or WhatsApp. ---
**Author:** ![Cal](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Cal](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2025, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/8 "2025-06-25T23:53:39Z")
My opinion is that you’re being scammed. If you travel all the way to Astrakhan or wherever this person is, you will probably be beaten up, robbed, and left somewhere for dead. DON’T DO IT. I’m cautious even in relatively safe cities like Pete or Moscow. And you didn’t do anything wrong by asking for her information and phone number. Don’t apologize “profusely.” All you did there was show the scammer that you were hooked. ---
**Author:** ![swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@swede28](https://forum.russiable.com/u/swede28)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:47am UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/9 "2025-06-26T01:47:22Z")
@Cmdukes2 Yes I know it’s expensive. But I promise you, someone you never met or even video chatted with will not make burden your feelings with her money problems. If you don’t know where you met her, it’s likely a scam. ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:34am UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/10 "2025-06-26T05:34:02Z")
Thanks @swede28 and @NorseVictory. I am falling for it but at the same time staying on guard. I just left a bad marriage and I live on my own for the first time in my life. The whole ordeal was more therapeutic for me in a way it helped me cope. There was no personal information asked about nor was there any given. I have been a victim of at least 2 scams but this was definitely a very elaborate one. I even searched pictures online to see if they matched pictures she sent me of places she was at posing in front of. I do not believe that a scammer would plan to lure me to where they supposedly lived though. They usually try and deter that because then what would they get out of it in the end? @Cal , funny thing about me, I have been through a lot in my life and I did get hooked as you say but not in the way of being fully invested. I have been waiting for her, if she is a her to feel like she had me. It has moved into the stage of the “relationship” where a catfish would normally create a scenario where they were desperate and needed financial help which I feel is just around the corner. She shares a different photo of herself at least once a day and i wonder how she has so many photos because most scam artists that I encountered do not usually have that many. In any case I am sure her next email will be to suggest maybe I send her money instead of going to see her. My current financial situation it would be a real long time before I could consider going to Russia anyway. I wonder if I should share the address and phone number she gave me on here just for kicks. When I searched the address I actually came up with nothing. Just now doing another search I came up with a different result, apparently the address leads to a Hotel Znamensk. “Astrakhan region. city of Znamensk. Lenin Street. Building 23. Postcode 416540. 7 sq.” Google maps didn’t give me this the last time but this time I used search all and AI actually said: “Based on the provided information, Lenin Street 23, Znamensk, Astrakhan Region, 416540 Russia is the location of the Hotel Znamensk.” Thank you all for bringing me back to reality. ---
**Author:** ![phoebe](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/41988e/32.png) [@phoebe](https://forum.russiable.com/u/phoebe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 11:26am UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/11 "2025-06-26T11:26:49Z")
Classic Scam, big giveaway is " do you remember me". Stats from UK fraud dept shows 70% of these e mail scams originated in Nigeria and 20% in Ghana. They will never video chat with you, only a few AI videos pre prepared which is the new thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/12 "2025-06-26T12:44:00Z")
@phoebe Yes, that was the first red flag right along with the excuse about the phone and the inability to identify a picture of a park in Znamensk that I found on Google maps. They claimed they haven’t seen that email with that picture which I knew was bs. ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 1:39pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/13 "2025-06-26T13:39:05Z")
So update, she did not ask for money even this time. Maybe she is hoping I will volunteer to send her money somehow? “They explained to me at the travel agency that in order to travel to you, I needed to make the necessary documents. The cost of the necessary documents is $1060. This price includes: Foreign passport $220, tourist visa $245, travel to Moscow $205, accommodation in Moscow $230, medical examination $160. I was also told that the documents would be done in just a couple of weeks. Can you imagine?? A couple of weeks and we can be together. But for me, this is a huge amount. I won’t be able to find that amount. All I have in my savings is $380! I need to find another $680 just to start doing the documents. This is a huge amount for me, and I don’t know what to do now. Carl, my love… Thank you for all your wonderful words. Thank you for your support and I love you so much!!! You just can’t imagine how you helped me get through this pain that has been in my heart since yesterday. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what I would do now and how to hold on because of this problem. I don’t want to live without you! I don’t even want to think that we will suffer at a distance from each other. You are not stupid, I am stupid. I didn’t know that the amount would be so big and that I would have to find a lot of money for the trip… I really thought that everything would cost much less. Please forgive me! Forgive me for being so stupid. I don’t want to lose you and I don’t want to live without you on this planet! I read all your letters, my dear. I see that you found a job and now you have been hired. Carl, I am really happy with this news and there is nothing better for me.. I am also glad to hear that you would come to me in Russia and take me away from here. But think for yourself how expensive it will be to make two trips. I will have to spend money for you to come here and fly back. And also spend money on documents for me and a plane ticket. Carl, I don’t want you to spend so much and that’s why I will try to find money to come to you… I don’t know if I can do it, but for you I am ready to do anything. I will visit my friends, I will ask for help from acquaintances or from my mother and grandmother. I am really ready to break my ass for you, but to be with you!!! I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, my prince. Airplane tickets are actually only part of the trouble and they cost less than documents. The most important thing is to get the documents done. If I have a passport and a visa, then I will be able to travel to you without any problems and there will be no problems with this. There is a way to be together.. The travel agency I contacted is very good and they could do everything for us, but the problem now is only in money. I do not want to postpone our meeting. I do not want to wait who knows how long and I will really fight for you until the very end. I pray to God that everything will work out and we will be able to unite our hearts into one whole. It was very hard for me, but your letter today eased my suffering! Thank you for not leaving me and giving me hope that we will be together! But I do not understand what to do now! After all, there is a huge distance between us! My heart is bleeding! It hurts me that now our happiness depends only on me! Forgive me! I can’t think of anything but you. Carl, thank you for your true and pure love! But I really don’t know what to do now. I’m ready to do everything so that we can be together! After all, you are my true love! You are the meaning of my life! Carl, I’m ready to fight for our love, but I don’t see any solutions to this problem now. I can only go to my friends and ask them for help. Carl, I’m ready to do everything to be with you. But what can I do? Maybe you can tell me where I can go and what I can do? Tell me, and I will do it! I will try my best to come to you, and I hope that in your next letter, you will tell me your plan for our meeting!” ---
**Author:** ![NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@NorseVictory](https://forum.russiable.com/u/NorseVictory)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/14 "2025-06-26T17:16:56Z")
@Cmdukes2 she is ---
**Author:** ![Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/user_avatar/forum.russiable.com/cmdukes2/32/16_2.png) [@Cmdukes2](https://forum.russiable.com/u/Cmdukes2)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 3:20am UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/15 "2025-06-27T03:20:11Z")
I just remembered I could do a Ip search. She or he is in Utica, New York USA ---
**Author:** ![KO11](https://forum.russiable.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@KO11](https://forum.russiable.com/u/KO11)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://forum.russiable.com/t/from-russia-with-love/248/16 "2025-07-28T04:30:47Z")
American man arriving to Australia to meet “Anna and her 3 kids” whom he’s been sending all his income to for over 10 years and is deeply in love with and preparing to marry. Worth watching. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_3lFEOOPRu4/maxresdefault.jpg "10 Year Love Scam Exposed At Customs | Border Security") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3lFEOOPRu4)