# I think I'm being set up for a scam. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759 "2009-03-17T15:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/21 "2009-03-17T21:01:24Z")
That’s the great thing about having no self-confidence: you _know_ you wouldn’t interest anyone, so people claiming a sudden intense infatuation are obviously scammers, and you can ward them off before they do damage. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/22 "2009-03-17T21:10:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > …do you want him to draw you a picture? 😃 Yes please. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/23 "2009-03-17T21:14:57Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > She isn’t in a foreign country, or at least her location is not out of the US. She claims to be in the US military service. IIRC Bill Kurtis had a program on about bigamy. A guy married three different women, using the ruse of being in the military—the “assignments” explained long absences. Meanwhile of course he was bilking them of their money. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/24 "2009-03-17T21:15:58Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > IIRC Bill Kurtis had a program on about bigamy. A guy married three different women, using the ruse of being in the military—the “assignments” explained long absences. Meanwhile of course he was bilking them of their money. Yeah, marriage fraud sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/25 "2009-03-17T21:16:48Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > …do you want him to draw you a picture? 😃 No, we need large glossy colour photographs, please. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/26 "2009-03-17T21:18:37Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > No, we need large glossy colour photographs, please. But not too glossy. Because then they just look fake. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/27 "2009-03-18T11:49:04Z")
I have a story that may be relevant. I have a yahoo account I rarely use. I started getting emails from someone who was using a non-spam looking account. I open it and it’s from “Olga”, a lovely Russian woman. She sends pictures. She writes every day. So, I wrote back. Just to say hello. The delight from hearing from me was amazing! Woo hoo! The problem is she still can’t get my name right. And her mother thinks I’m great! And her grandmother thinks we’d be perfect for each other. I haven’t even sent a picture. I can’t wait to see where this is going. I’ll feel kind of bad if “Olga” is real, but come on now, I still can’t figure out where she got my email… pretty smart, that “Olga”. “Olga” hasn’t sent me any bikini shots yet, yet alone nudies. What a crappy scammer. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/28 "2009-03-18T12:28:37Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I have a story that may be relevant. I have a yahoo account I rarely use. I started getting emails from someone who was using a non-spam looking account. I open it and it’s from “Olga”, a lovely Russian woman. She sends pictures. She writes every day. So, I wrote back. Just to say hello. > > The delight from hearing from me was amazing! Woo hoo! The problem is she still can’t get my name right. And her mother thinks I’m great! And her grandmother thinks we’d be perfect for each other. > > I haven’t even sent a picture. I can’t wait to see where this is going. I’ll feel kind of bad if “Olga” is real, but come on now, I still can’t figure out where she got my email… pretty smart, that “Olga”. > > “Olga” hasn’t sent me any bikini shots yet, yet alone nudies. What a crappy scammer. That sounds hilarious. I think I’ll have to get me an Olga. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/29 "2009-03-18T16:04:12Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > She claims to be in the US military service. Is this verbatim? No one I know ever says that. It’s “I’m in the Navy/Army/AF” or “I’m a Marine.” For something requiring more vagueness, I hear and use “I’m military” or “I’m Active Duty.” FTR, I vote scam. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/30 "2009-03-18T16:57:16Z")
> [@flyboy](#): > > Is this verbatim? No one I know ever says that. It’s “I’m in the Navy/Army/AF” or “I’m a Marine.” For something requiring more vagueness, I hear and use “I’m military” or “I’m Active Duty.” > > FTR, I vote scam. No, not verbatim, but I didn’t want to say what branch or what she does. If she is for real, I would not want to provide too much of her details. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/31 "2009-03-18T17:35:03Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > The delight from hearing from me was amazing! Woo hoo! The problem is she still can’t get my name right. And her mother thinks I’m great! And her grandmother thinks we’d be perfect for each other. > > I haven’t even sent a picture. I can’t wait to see where this is going. I’ll feel kind of bad if “Olga” is real, but come on now, I still can’t figure out where she got my email… pretty smart, that “Olga”. I had a friend in grad school who was a Russian immigrant who had become an American citizen. He enrolled with one of those Russian mail-order bride sites. He wrote his profile in Russian, explaining his background and talking at length about himself. He got quite a few responses in broken English, including sentiments like, “Even though we don’t share a common culture, I feel such a connection to you.” He used to call them “hairy Boris” letters, because he was pretty sure they were being written by some hairy guy named Boris living in a basement somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/32 "2009-03-18T19:44:07Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > I had a friend in grad school who was a Russian immigrant who had become an American citizen. He enrolled with one of those Russian mail-order bride sites. He wrote his profile in Russian, explaining his background and talking at length about himself. He got quite a few responses in broken English, including sentiments like, “Even though we don’t share a common culture, I feel such a connection to you.” He used to call them “hairy Boris” letters, because he was pretty sure they were being written by some hairy guy named Boris living in a basement somewhere. The scammers would be so much more effective if they _only paid attention!!_ Better stupid criminals than smart ones, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759/33 "2009-03-23T13:20:25Z")
Whether she was or wasn’t for real is moot now - her account has been deactivated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-im-being-set-up-for-a-scam/489759.md?page=1)