I receive email pleas and scams all the time but, the following letter was especially interesting for its wonderful pretend warmth and cunning, hazy, directness. I am posting it exactly how it was formatted and spelled. For a moment, I thought this was a nice note from the eKaterina I know, but, alas, it was not from her. Take the following note — edited down a bit to remove repetitiveness — as a warning and a wonderment. 


***

Hello!!!
How are you doing? I have found your email in Internet and decided
write to you. My name is Ekaterina. I am 27 years old. Live in Russia,
city Kirov. I am cheerful woman, for an entertainment like to do many
things as sports meets, a camping, go to the cinema, theatre etc. In a
word I like to do all that all people. I work in marketing structure on
sale of cosmetics Oriflame. I have good life here. I not the rich
woman, but can provide myself. I like to travel.
…
What are you going to do this autumn?

It would be fine if we could
meet, do friendship or more than simply friendship. I shall be happy if
you also have a free time and we could meet soon. I do not know your
interests, but anyhow write to me back and I shall tell to you more
about myself. Write to me all that you want. Probably we have similar
plans and the purposes for the future and it will be interesting to us
together.
I have easy character and you can write all that you want.
Ask any questions which interest you.
Write back and I shall tell more about myself and I shall send some my
photos.

***

How many men fall for a letter like this?

20 Comments

  1. I get offers like that too, but they aren’t written like that one. It is like she knows you.

  2. Heya Karvain!
    It does seem like she knows me. I don’t know her, though. I have a feeling “she” did an internet search on “eKaterina” and found my blog entry with that name in the title and then that name was used to personalize the pitch. The email was addressed to my email account so I don’t think it was a mass mailing.

  4. Hi Carla —
    Yeah! Sneaky!
    You know there are lonely men — married or not — there who are dying to see her photos.
    I bet you have to buy a plane ticket or fork over some money to “help” pay for her ability to exite you.

  5. Bingo. The catch is that some money will have to change hands at some point.
    What real life woman would ever send out an unsolicited email to a random man asking if she could visit? If she was afraid to travel to the US without her friend, there is no way she’d want to shack up with the first person to respond to her email.
    When I was younger and a subscriber to a certain popular internet provider, I received an unsolicited instant message from someone in Nigeria asking if I would send her a letter of invitation so she could visit me. I could see where a lonely guy with nothing going on could be tempted to reply. I bet after chatting for a couple of weeks, the right “mark” probably wires some money for the plane ticket for a visit.
    It would be interesting to run a google search using phrases from the sender’s email to see if other people have received the same mail.
    All of these emails are the same as the email from the general who needs your bank account and routing number so he can park his millions while he flees the civil unrest.
    Chris
    http://d-chaos.blogspot.com
    BA~~32

  7. I got almost the exact same letter a few weeks ago. They had a different job, but grammar, wording, and the over all gist of the letter was the exact same.
    Now, like you, I knew better but decided to have fun. So I replied, and kept replying. I’d start off the letters with a paragraph that was pleasant, then go into basically asking them if they really ever thought anyone would fall for it, but not in a nice way of asking…
    Then, would end the letters with a pleasant paragraph.
    Over the course of 5 emails, she decided she was madly in love with me and wanted to come marry me. Said she couldn’t be without me, etc.. how she missed me and she couldn’t wait to be with me again.
    I was like “again?” seeing as I’ve never met her before.
    All in all, was great fun. whomever it was never read the whole emails and would answer any questions in the first paragraph but seemed to never get past that. Hence why I did it that way. They look for opener’s so that they can “pretend” to be interested and then try to lure people in.
    After the 5th email she “needed money with an airline” to come see me and I was like “um…naw, you go right ahead and pay, then when yer here I’ll reemburse ya”.
    So then she said she couldn’t get that much money up. So I said “ok, so I went looking, and found airfair for half that! So tell ya what, I’ll pay for it and you just gotta pick up the tickets. Sadly they’re non-refundable so you’ll have to let me know when you can come visit”.
    She kept trying her best to find a way that I’d HAVE to send the money, and I kept pointing out that, with modern technology that’s a thing of the past! I had great fun playing the game, but con-people always back out when they’re in over their head.

  8. Hey Video!
    I love your story!
    Oh, If I only had the time and the guts to lead them on like you did!
    Wonderful work!
    You should post all your messages back and forth as a blog post. It would get lots of readers and do a great service for us all! 🙂

  9. Oh, please, as I’ve already said, my husband’s favorite cuss word is f*ck… and he uses it regularly! 😉
    It takes a lot to make me blush! 😳

  11. Dearest, Darling, Carler — We apologize on behalf of menkind that you must deal with the “f-bomb” so often, but that does not excuse Gentleman Dave from “marinading” you in that kind of potty typing ❗ We can, and shall, protect ye ❗
    My Google Friend, Paul — Yes! Beware of Svetlana! She’s draining your bank account while you read this ❗

  12. I’m sorry, but my women’s college education keeps me from allowing any man from “protecting” me. I would be stripped of my degree if I gave in to that chivalry! 😉

  13. Heh!
    I have a knowing smile thanks to you, Carla!
    I love women who attend private women’s schools because their rules of gender interaction are so rigid and unforgiving and hard and edgy and suspicious.
    I know one woman here who refuses to let a man — ANY MAN! — open a door for her because it is sexist and then she has the gall to wonder why she can’t find a man at age 32 so she can settle down and have children. Now that’s a bwa-ha-harr if I ever heard one! 😆

  14. Well, I do exaggerate a bit. I have enough southern belle in me to allow chivalry when I want it.
    I have just enough feminism in me, however, to let anyone know that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of things myself as well. 😉

  16. The funny thing is that my best friend who is in London at the moment working, met a Russian lady on the internet and has been chatting to her for a few months now. He mentioned to me that she needs money for a visa and I told him it sounds like a scam. “she” sent him photos of herself hubba hubba. but alas I think she is a he and he is General Kevchenko ex kGB looking to line his pockets for his retirement or something.
    It sounded so corny when he told me about her and I knew I was right. Reminds me of the 419 scams the Nigerians sucker thousands with each year. They send you a mail saying that they have access to millions of dollars in a locked account and need a few thousand dollars to get the account unlocked. You send em the money and never heard from them again.
    Although there are a bunch of guys who call themselves scam baiters. Basically they scam the scammers. They promise the scammers the needed money but make them jump through hoops and never send the money, they make them pose for weird photos, make them fill out bogus forms and they fall for it, hook, line and sinker.
    For a good laugh at scammers getting scammed, http://www.419eater.com

  17. Paul!
    What a fabulous story!
    I appreciate the intricate details of your continued warnings about these scams.
    I love the 419 site! What great fun!!! 🙂

  18. I received the very same letter in two of my e-mail accounts.
    But I was thrilled to find out that there are women who want to have sex with me living in my neighborhood. I’ll just buy a Rolex for $40 from the money I’m receiving from the Ugandan President, take a viagra, and have her over to the house I just bought with my new ulta low mortgage.

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