How to Avoid Ukraine Dating Scams

Know these signs to protect yourself from dating scams.

There are a lot of men who want to be with a Ukrainian woman. A lot of them go online to find one. But there are more than a few pitfalls to going online to find a Ukrainian woman to date.

Sure you can try registering in an online dating app. But the thing about the internet is that there is an element of anonymity to it. Not everyone online wants to be an influencer whose name is known to thousands or even millions of people.

Not everyone wants to be famous. In fact, lots of people on the internet want to be the opposite of famous. They do not want people outside of their social circle to even know that they exist at all, let alone exist online.

They want the anonymity offered by the internet because their intentions are not exactly all that savory. They want to do things on an online dating site that polite society would likely frown on. Sometimes, the things that they want to do are not exactly legal.

As bad as it is, a romance scam or, popularly known as, a dating scam is not exactly unheard of on the internet. Lots of people have gotten catfished by people who they think could be someone with whom to have a romantic relationship.

Sometimes, a person can start a relationship with someone over the internet through a dating service. They’ll have social media, they’ll have pictures, and they’ll have all the hallmarks of legitimacy. But they aren’t legitimate at all.

They will appear legitimate because they have nefarious motives. They hoodwink the lovelorn and they get what they want and their victims end up taking a possibly bad financial hit as well as a broken heart.

But there are a few ways to watch out for these people, to spot them before they can hit your wallet and your bank account. Here are the signs you need to look out for:

1. Their Pictures

Most people will have a picture (or two or more) on their dating profile. Sometimes these pictures can be candid, things that they took while hanging out with friends or just living their lives in general. Other times, these pictures can look staged, like they were taken in a studio by a professional photographer.

Now, there’s nothing entirely wrong with someone who has professional photos on their profile. The problem can arise when all of their photos are professionally done glamor shots. A lack of candid shots can make it difficult to discern their personalities.

But another problem that arises with the pictures is when the pictures are not of them at all. Many posers will pull pictures from various sites and put together a profile with the intent of using said profile to hook an unsuspecting person in.

Be careful when using any dating service to avoid being victimized by online scammers.

Once that person is hooked, then the con can begin. The con can be a short one, ending as soon as a single payoff is made.

But the con can also be pretty long, with the tricksters milking a lot of gifts and money out of their victims, stringing them along until they can’t get any more from them.

So look out for the pictures, because they can be worth a little more than a thousand words in some instances. They can be worth actual money.

Not even the most secure online dating sites are immune from such people. A quick image search can be very helpful in rooting out false accounts.

2. They Keep Asking for Gifts

Related to the scam, if you find yourself having to give and give without any kind of reciprocation, then maybe the relationship is not mutually beneficial but more of a one-sided transaction.

Try to withhold some gifts every now and then and see how your partner reacts. If they understand, then it’s a good sign that the relationship is real. If she’s upset and threatens to cut off the relationship, then leave her because it wasn’t a real relationship to begin with and your time would be better served courting someone else.

3. They Never Want to Meet

Now, relationships are best done if the two people in that relationship are in the same place at the same time. Basically, it is best if the person that you are with is in the same general area as you, because distance can be detrimental to a courtship.

A long-distance relationship conducted over the internet can be hard, but it can be easier when the two people meet every now and then. However, problems can arise when one party keeps coming up with excuses not to meet.

Maybe they are busy with family stuff, maybe they missed their flights, whatever the case, there is always something that keeps them from being able to meet in person the man that they supposedly love.

Now, there can be legitimate reasons. But most of the time, it is because the person on one end has no interest in their paramour beyond the material gain they receive from the relationship.

Ask them to meet in person or at least show up in a video call to verify their identity.

So if this is the case with your relationship, then it is best to cut your losses and find someone who won’t keep coming up with reasons not to see you.

After all, dating is a lot easier when you’re both in the same place at the same time.

4. Pet Names and Only Pet Names

Another red flag to look out for is what she calls you. If she’s always using pet names—and only pet names—then it might be because she’s got other boyfriends and doesn’t want to mix up any names and cut off one of her income streams.

Even the most mainstream dating sites are going to have their fair share of people with materialistic intentions. So if your date never gets your name right, take that as a red flag.

5. Gut Feeling

Sometimes, you just get a feeling that someone is not on the same level as you. More often than not, it is because your subconscious mind is picking up on cues that your conscious mind is ignoring. So if you are in a situation where your gut is telling you to avoid a person, trust it because your gut is not likely to let you down.

There’s research available online that further discusses the importance of trusting your gut instinct. According to INC online magazine, trusting your gut instinct is often the best strategy. It’s because our brain uses a combination of logic and emotion when making decisions, and it always chooses the more rational decision. Sometimes, because our brain’s decisions are too rational, we don’t pick up on social cues. Hence, why it’s best to take your feelings into consideration.

6. Tries to Persuade You to Move to a Different Messaging Platform

Dating sites, especially those famous and reputable ones have rigorous safety measures in place to ensure that the people using them will feel safe and will know that they are connecting to real members of the sites and not just some scammers waiting for their victims.

If your online match asks you to move the conversation to another messaging platform, there might be something wrong with it. Scammers want to avoid the safety measures of such dating sites, so they often persuade you to communicate with them through other social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram.

However, not everyone that wants to switch to another platform is a scammer. Sometimes, they can ask you to switch if they want to have more privacy and talk in an avenue where they feel most familiar.

You can accept their demands, however, ensure that you have already verified their profiles or perhaps have met them through video calls before doing so.

7. Confesses Their Love Too Quickly

Is your online match overly devoted to you even though it’s just days since you met?

Watch out, she might be a scammer.

Online scammers are experts in manipulation. They will use your feelings to their advantage. For example, they will profess their love even at the early stage and will often ironically say that they’re not in a hurry. They just want you to get hooked on them. Once you do get hooked, they will strike.

They mostly target those that are vulnerable and are deprived of love because they are yearning for connection, making them easily fall for scammers.

8. Money Mules Scam

There’s not an online dating site that can guarantee your complete safety, so be cautious.

A money mule is someone who receives and transfers illegally acquired money. Many scammers know the risks of asking for money online. So, instead of requesting money from you, they will instead make you an accomplice in money laundering.

For instance, they may send money to your bank account and ask you to transfer it to another account owned by them. As a result, you’ve become involved in a criminal scheme for which you may be held accountable unless proven innocent.

If you believe you are a victim of a money mule scam, contact your financial institution immediately and notify local law enforcement to handle this problem properly.

There are a lot of pitfalls to dating over the internet. But there are pitfalls with dating in real life too. The good thing is that there are a lot of signs to watch out for, a lot of ways to avoid these pitfalls in order to find the type of happiness that people generally want to have. Good luck!