ORIGINAL SOURCE: USA EMBASSY IN UKRAINE ARTICLE COPIED DIRECTLY FROM LINK: http://ukraine.usembassy.gov/scams.html

“We receive many inquiries from people who have been defrauded for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars by Internet contacts they thought were their friends or loved ones. Internet con artists try to convince you to send them money. These schemes include lotteries, on-line dating services, offers of immigration or visa assistance, or even requests from a “friend” in trouble. In many cases, scammers troll the Internet for victims, and spend weeks or months building a relationship. Once they have gained their victims’ trust, they create a false situation and ask for money.

Before you send any money, check to see if you recognize any of the following signs that you may be a potential victim of a scam:

•You only know your friend or fiancé online and may never have met in person.
•Photographs of the scammer show a very attractive person, and appear to have been taken at a professional modeling agency or photo studio. If they provide you with a copy of their passport or visa, you can always contact the U.S. Embassy in the country where the passport or visa was issued to check the validity of the document.
•The scammer’s luck is incredibly bad – he or she is in a car crash, or arrested, or mugged, or beaten, or hospitalized. Close family members are dead or unable to assist. Sometimes the scammer claims to have a young child overseas who is ill or hospitalized.
•You have sent money for visas or plane tickets, but they can’t seem to make it to their destinations, citing detention by immigration officials, or other unexpected reasons that prevent them for traveling.
•Beware of anyone who requests funds as a requirement to depart another country for the United States – sometimes called a Basic Travel Allowance or BTA. There is no such thing as a BTA. In other cases, your Internet friend will claim a need for a certain amount of money to travel to the United States. Again, there is no such requirement under U.S. law.
•The scammer claims to have been born in the United States, but uses poor grammar and spelling indicative of a non-native English speaker.
Marriage/Dating Scams

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv receives numerous reports from U.S. citizens who have been the victims of a particular type of internet fraud in which the person has sent money to a person or an agency with the agreement that a young woman will visit the United States for the purposes of marriage or study. Often, these scams will result in requests for increasing amounts of money for various purposes, including many noted above. Once the U.S. citizen becomes suspicious, the individual or agency will cut off contact. Many of these agencies have existed for years under a variety of different names and addresses.

Even if the woman you have become acquainted with does exist and it honestly trying to visit you in the United States, it is unlikely that she will be issued a visa. The U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens not to send money to people or agencies who have advertised for these services over the internet. We have no authority to investigate these types of incidents and it is very unlikely that you will recover your money if it turns out you are the victim of a scam.

Legitimate information about obtaining various types of U.S. visas is available for free from the U.S. Embassy website and the Department of State . Additional information about applying for a visa for your fiancée is also available from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service .

If you believe you are the victim of an Internet scam:

•Do not send money. Unfortunately, any money you have already sent is probably not recoverable.
•End all communication with the scammer immediately. If you feel threatened, contact the local police at once. DO NOT attempt to personally recover the funds you have sent.
•Report the matter immediately to:
•The Internet Crime Complaint Center , a partnership among the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
•If you are in Ukraine, to the local police.
•If the scam originated through a particular website, notify the administrators of that website.”

A Note from Oksana Boichenko:

This is rather a critical issue! This is exactly what I am talking about at my webinar http://blog.oksanalove.com/you-scam-me-not/   with Kate (the scam agency manager) and Maria – my office manager in Ukraine.

I knew that situation with Ukrainian Dating Scams was going out of hands, but I would never suspect that it would explode to such an extend when USA Embassy itself has to bring it up to your attention!  

Gentlemen, the issue with Russian and Ukrainian women scams is critical, you GOT to learn how to protect yourself against of deceit of foreign women. Join our mission to STOP RUSSIAN SCAMMERS ONCE AND FOR ALL! See all details below http://blog.oksanalove.com/you-scam-me-not/