Mail Order Bride Scam: Any Ways To Avoid It?

There are two types of people: those who believe that all global dating websites are just money pits and scams and those who believe that their mail order brides sites can really help them find love. Who’s right? Both are right and both are wrong, actually. 

Here is the most important thing that every online dater should keep in mind. Mail order bride scam exists. But there are ways to avoid it, find real dates, and maybe even marry one of your online matches. So, how to distinguish a money pit from a trusted website? That’s what we’re going to discuss. 

Mail order bride scam: How it works? 

The best way to avoid a scam is to understand how it works in a specific business. Here is the most common scheme that online frauds, owners of fake international dating platforms usually use: 

• Stealing photos. Stealing someone’s pictures is super easy, actually. Facebook, Instagram, and plenty of other social media/networking sites are inexhaustible sources of photos of real people, attractive real people, to be exact.
• Messages from bots, hired people, or frauds themselves. Many scam mail order brides platforms use bots to send messages to people and make them respond. Some hire people who write tons of similar messages to all members hoping to establish that connection and then get your money. Such messages usually sound weird. Why would a hot 20-year old blonde write something like “Waiting for you, I’m on fire” in her first message? 
• Hidden costs. On such websites, there are a lot of not-so-pleasant surprises for members. You can find out that every message costs tons of money after you send 10 of them, and there will be no mark, notification, anything. 
• No video chat, no phone calls, nothing but messages. A messenger is a perfect tool for fraudsters. If there is no way to have a video chat, set up a date, request contact, or watch a live show, this is definitely a bad sign. 
• Suspicious information in profiles. What if you see a hot girl’s profile, but she has two bachelor’s degrees despite the fact that she’s only 19 years old and/or is looking for 18-90-year old guys? The only thing you should do is close her profile and never browse this page again. 

Bots, fakes, high costs, no special communication tools—all this distinguishes dating sites scams from good websites. 

How to avoid online dating scammers & date safely?

Here is how you can avoid dating scams:

1. Look through the profiles on the site. If profiles are low-effort, if ladies have 2-3 photos, if there’s weird information in profiles, avoid this website. 
2. If you sign up and receive 100+ messages from girls who look like top models in a few seconds, delete your account. 
3. Find out if there’s email verification. If there is no verification and moderation, there is a big chance that the site is full of fake profiles. 
4. If the prices are very high (for example, $200 per month for messaging only), leave the site. 
5. Google random members’ photos. That’s how you can understand if profiles are fake or not. 
6. Never, never send money no matter who asks for them. 

Generally speaking, you need to be skeptical about everything that happens. If you still feel doubts, have a video chat with your online date—that will help you get rid of them or, by contrast, confirm your fears. 

Dating scammer list: example of scam websites

What do mail order brides site scams look like? Take a look at these two sites: 

• RussianFlirting.com—a free dating site. If you sign up (we don’t recommend doing it, though), you’ll find out that it’s not free though it claims to be free, there are tons of low-effort and obviously fake profiles, and the best thing is no one even responds to your messages. 
• BeHappy2Day.com—a dating site for people worldwide. What’s wrong with it? Well, it has a lot of fake reviews, there’s no verification, profile photos are actually stock photos, and messaging becomes available only after you make payment. The prices, by the way, are incredibly high. 

Basically, these are the standard scam websites. If you join such a site, you’ll literally pay for nothing. 

Do trusted mail order brides websites exist? 

We’d like to emphasize that we don’t claim that all mail order bride sites or dating platforms are scams, not at all. There are good platforms that can really connect you to real singles in almost any country of the world. But you should check any site carefully, read the reviews and test the platform before you start using it. We also recommend using the tips that we provided—they can help you avoid problems, disappointments, and will save you from money loss.