So my friend has acquired a Russian penpal, picked up from one of those random emails about Russian women wanting to meet men in other countries. He thought it'd be interesting to see how long it took for her to bring up money. Apparently, not very long.
He only started posting both parts of their conversation in the last couple of weeks, for the amusement of about 700 people, but it sounds like she asked for money for a visa to come visit him within a week. I find this especially amusing. She tried to prove she was real by sending a picture of her passport, sending pictures in various poses, holding a sign in a grainy picture with "I'm real" written and his fake name. If this were the early part of online dating, this would sound great and possible.
His story has gotten much more involved recently. The monetary demand was getting quite heated, with her accusing him of leading her on, so he wrote that he was in the hospital, relying on friends who didn't believe she was real to send the money. Never once did she talk about his hospitalisation, despite him mentioning he might lose his leg and it was a critical situation. He's written quite a lot about his injuries and accident, and you'd think someone who professes that she wants to curl up in front of a fire with hot chocolate and just stare at each other might pick up that being hospitalised is a pretty major thing.
Now, I know that there's a slight chance that she's a real person and she is probably thinking he's her meal ticket out of a tough situation. But what are the chances of that? Maybe 4%? Because things just don't add up.
And this is why it's my favourite part of the week, when he gets a new letter and sometimes new photos. Because it's interesting to be on the inside when a scammer tries to scam someone who knows what's going on. I suspect my friend's persona will wind up dying, but we'll see.
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