If you are thinking of meeting a Russian woman over the Internet - you HAVE to be aware of these most popular scams online:
Here are the most popular cities considered to be the scam capitals of their countries:
Lugansk ? the scam capital of Ukraine ? 90% of the ladies are scamming foreign men for money, presents, etc; read on to see the most popular scams. Yoshkar-Ola ? the scam capital of Russia Kazan ? the scam capital of Russia Minsk - the scam capital of Belarus
In this article will be explained the most popular scams that Russian women go through and the saddest real stories that I witnesses when American men lost their head and a lot of money when chasing their dream.
I came to Lugansk with a purpose to open another matchmaking office there. I think manies have heard about the tremendous beauty of hot and sensual Ukrainian girls but only a smaller number of them do really know that exactly in this small Ukrainian town with a poetic name Lugansk every girl is a real supermodel. Frankly speaking, I didn't have any version about why is it so, until the time when I introduced with one interesting and of course beautiful woman, who told me that in the time of the Russian Impress Katherine the second's ruling, she dispatched all the beautiful girls to that remote area. She eliminated all that women of tremendous beauty in unknown city of Lugansk, in order their charm could not darken the beauty of the powerful Empress. In such a way, this small city was full of girls of unbelievable beauty and they were passing this real value from generation to generation. Probably it's just a beautiful legend, but you start unwillingly believing it when you walk in the streets of Lugansk and stare at dazzling smiles of Russian Brides of Lugansk beauties .
In one of the hot days, I set down on a bench in the shadow in a cozy and pretty park and lazily was looking at people who were resting there. Through some time my attention was attracted by a group of four chaps - two guys and two girls. One of the women among them was tremendously beautiful! A guy that was sticking with her was pretty much athletic but he was staring at another man in a very unfriendly way. At the mean time, the guy that was gazed by another man admirably looked at that extremely beautiful girl. The second chick as I understood was a translator, because guy that was charmed most all spoke in English. The interpreter seemed nervous and unconfident. The beauty was only answering "yes" or "no" and the conversation of two seemed more like a monolog of a foreigner. In some 15-20 minutes the stranger took out of his wallet and passed few green banknotes to the translator. Then, girls and the athletic guy left a foreigner alone and gone in a car that was waiting for them.
As I later found out, the foreigner was an American. His name was Steve. He seemed really confused. That's why I decided to approach him and ask if he needs any help. So, we introduced and from that moment I started getting to know a different side of Lugansk. It was another truth - a shocking truth about this city.
He came from USA to meet his virtual woman of dream and gain his long-awaited happiness. His whole family was expecting him home with his beautiful, loving and caring Ukrainian bride. However his fiancee disappeared from his life unexpectedly, just like she entered it. The same thing happened to his friend who came with him to Lugansk for seeing his bride.
So, what was so horrible and what happened to both of them?
I told this guy's story to the manager of my newly registered Lugansk branch of "oksanalove" Russian bride dating agency. And I was even more surprised and confused when she told me not a legend and not a history, but a real thing. I won't tell about all the details. I just going tell you about some facts that I found out there. So, Lugansk and other scam cities have several illegal fake agencies that work behind the closed doors. They don't give any of their contact details; they do not provide clients with any trustworthy information, they don't have advertisements. The pictures of their beautiful clients they put in different free internet sites like Absolute agency, etc. Many of their clients are married young women. They are not unfaithful to their husbands and do not look for a partner for creating a family. So, why do they address to the dating agency? The answer is simple and horrifying - is the money. This is it! The work of these beauties is also simple and does not really bother them. They just bring their photos to the agency and that's all. The rest is the task for their agency. They decide on what web-site to put the newly came girl's picture, they write letters to her trapped man and so on. Of course man has to pay for all those letters, where "his" woman get's percentage for his spending. As a rule they receive lots of letters from the foreign clients and the fiance (if I can say so) on the wings of love fly to these cities to see their beloved ones. Finally, the couples have a meeting and... Confused fiance get a cold look of their Lugansk beauty instead of a sweet kiss.
They loyally pay money for personal translator service, driver, apartment found by their baby-girls and stay alone with their dreams. At the meantime, their brides honestly get their "share" for every deal from their translator who works for the agency.
Usually, the fake bride gets some percent from the whole sum given by her fiance. And actually, her salary depends on how much generous her fiance is. Some men spent 10K, others 15K, most generous one (I heard) spent 35 ? 45 Thousands!
Well, this is a sad story about Beautiful Russian Brides from Lugansk and their fake dating agencies. I take all the responsibility for the reliability of this information and it's checked by myself. In two similar agencies that I attended as a fake client I got the whole information about how the agencies of such kind operate and how their brides should work in their team. I told them that I'm married hiding the facts that could make them suspicious and disclose my intensions. As I told before, I will not describe all the details. However, it made me even the more striving for realizing my purpose.
Here are proximate % that ladies receive from their man's spending: Letters ? 40% Gifts ? 20 ? 30% Phone calls, translation services ? 30% Persona driver and interpreter when man arrives ? 50% Apartment / hotel rent ? 20%
When searching for a foreign woman on the Internet, watch closely how she plans a meeting with you: does she want to have her own interpreter? ? Red flag Does she wan her person driver? ? Red flag. Does she want to travel with her own interpreter if meeting takes place in a third country? ? Red flag.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of girls in Lugansk (or other Russian, Ukrainian cities) who want to find her second half, one she could give all her love, passion, tenderness, faithfulness and beauty.
See those specially selected ladies who truly want to find love and happiness with a foreign man Russian bride dating agency.
Kamis, 12 Juli 2007
Paid Surveys...Do They Really Pay?
Companies need your imput...make $1000-$3,000 a month doing surveys! Easy money doing surveys from home! Earn $20 or more for doing a 5 minute survey! Sounds intriguing, eh? After receiving about 1,000 emails one week on making money doing surveys from home, I thought I'd take some time to see what there was to this 'Getting Paid to do Surveys' thing. After putting in a search for 'Get Paid to do Surveys', I came back with numerous links and over the course of a couple days, I signed up for about 30 different companies. I quickly started receiving offers for surveys, but found out shortly thereafter that it was not quite as advertised. Instead of being paid lots of cash for doing surveys, I found the following to be the case;
1) Most of the Survey companies pay in Points and Sweepstakes entries instead of CASH!
The majority of the Survey compaines will pay you in points to do a survey. What this means is that if you are accepted to do a survey and complete it, you'll receive points and NOT cash. Once you accumulate enough points, you can then exchange the points for merchandise. The problem with this is, it will take you until NEXT Christmas to accumulate enough points to get anything. Yes, you could literally be doing sweepstakes for months before you accumulate enough points to redeem them for something. In conjuction with this, you're usually entered into sweepstakes drawings in which you can receive cash and or prizes, but just like the lottery, don't quit your day job in anticipation of winning one of these.
2) You WON'T qualify for most of the Surveys.
Another problem doing surveys is the Pre-Qualifiying Survey that they use to screen people to see if they qualify for the actual survey. It becomes very irritating doing a Pre-Qualifying Survey only to find out ten minutes into it, that according to the answers you provided, you didn't qualify to do the survey! It may not seem like a big deal, but after having this happen numerous times, you'll start to realize that you're spending more time doing Pre-Qualifying Surveys then actual surveys, and not making a dime for your time. Not exactly what you had in mind!
3) Surveys That Pay...and Time Involved.
Another thing that I discovered was that the companies that actually paid in cash usually paid between $1 to $5 to do a survey and not the $25 or more dollars that you were expecting to receive. Worse, these surveys usually take 20-30 minutes or so to complete, meaning that you were making about $5 a hour if averaged out over a period of time. While the companies selling the directories talk of people paying large amounts of money to do surveys, my experiences showed that the majority of the paying companies payed a good bit less than the figures quoted in the advertisements.
4) Survey's and Gift Certificates
Another type of email that you'll often receive states that you've been awarded a Gift Certificate from XXX company, and all you have to do to claim it is enter your email and fill out some information. Nah, not quite. The way this one works is once you've entered you're information, you'll be taken to a page where you have to sign up for a couple of offers in order to receive your prize. Even after that, there's stipulations involved before you can receive any Gift Certificate's. Again, not quite the way the thing is advertised.
As you've no doubt heard numerous times, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. While you may be able to make some money doing surveys from home, the odds of you making thousands as claimed are somewhat dubious. The bottom line is, before you spend any money on a 'Survey Directory', sign up for some of the free survey offers. Try them out for a week or two to see if it's something that you would like to do. Best of luck, and may you find Survey Success! by Bill
1) Most of the Survey companies pay in Points and Sweepstakes entries instead of CASH!
The majority of the Survey compaines will pay you in points to do a survey. What this means is that if you are accepted to do a survey and complete it, you'll receive points and NOT cash. Once you accumulate enough points, you can then exchange the points for merchandise. The problem with this is, it will take you until NEXT Christmas to accumulate enough points to get anything. Yes, you could literally be doing sweepstakes for months before you accumulate enough points to redeem them for something. In conjuction with this, you're usually entered into sweepstakes drawings in which you can receive cash and or prizes, but just like the lottery, don't quit your day job in anticipation of winning one of these.
2) You WON'T qualify for most of the Surveys.
Another problem doing surveys is the Pre-Qualifiying Survey that they use to screen people to see if they qualify for the actual survey. It becomes very irritating doing a Pre-Qualifying Survey only to find out ten minutes into it, that according to the answers you provided, you didn't qualify to do the survey! It may not seem like a big deal, but after having this happen numerous times, you'll start to realize that you're spending more time doing Pre-Qualifying Surveys then actual surveys, and not making a dime for your time. Not exactly what you had in mind!
3) Surveys That Pay...and Time Involved.
Another thing that I discovered was that the companies that actually paid in cash usually paid between $1 to $5 to do a survey and not the $25 or more dollars that you were expecting to receive. Worse, these surveys usually take 20-30 minutes or so to complete, meaning that you were making about $5 a hour if averaged out over a period of time. While the companies selling the directories talk of people paying large amounts of money to do surveys, my experiences showed that the majority of the paying companies payed a good bit less than the figures quoted in the advertisements.
4) Survey's and Gift Certificates
Another type of email that you'll often receive states that you've been awarded a Gift Certificate from XXX company, and all you have to do to claim it is enter your email and fill out some information. Nah, not quite. The way this one works is once you've entered you're information, you'll be taken to a page where you have to sign up for a couple of offers in order to receive your prize. Even after that, there's stipulations involved before you can receive any Gift Certificate's. Again, not quite the way the thing is advertised.
As you've no doubt heard numerous times, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. While you may be able to make some money doing surveys from home, the odds of you making thousands as claimed are somewhat dubious. The bottom line is, before you spend any money on a 'Survey Directory', sign up for some of the free survey offers. Try them out for a week or two to see if it's something that you would like to do. Best of luck, and may you find Survey Success! by Bill
Don’t Fall Victim To A Health Insurance Scam: 10 “Red Flags” You Should Look For
In today's fast paced world, business owners don't often have the time to thoroughly check out the companies they rely on to provide goods and services. In many cases, a determination of product/service quality can be made at the time goods are delivered or services are rendered. If goods or services do not meet expectations, there is often an immediate remedy available. For example, poor quality goods can be shipped back to the supplier and/or payment for services can be withheld until services are satisfactorily rendered.
Unfortunately, business owners do not always purchase items that are tangible items, in the sense that they can immediately determine the quality of the goods and/or services at the time of purchase. One example of such a purchase is health insurance. Since health insurance is not usually used immediately after purchase, the quality of care or the legitimacy of the policy may not even come into play until the business owner, or a family member, actually needs to have medical treatment. This is one of the primary reasons that many companies, often appearing legitimate, can get away with selling bogus health insurance coverage to unsuspecting business owners.
In most cases, fraudulent health insurance policies are sold to business owners by telemarketers or "agents" through bogus Associations and Unions. In that, the buyer must join a professional and/or trade association or become a union member to qualify for health insurance.
In fact, in a study published by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) in 2004, the GAO found that association schemes ranked at the top of the marketing methods followed by bogus health insurers. According to the report, "Employers and Individuals Are Vulnerable to Unauthorized or Bogus Entities Selling Coverage, between 2000 and 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor and state insurance regulators identified 144 unauthorized entities selling health insurance unlawfully. These entities defrauded 15,000 employers and more than 200,000 policyholders out of $252 million."
However, it is important to mention that many individual and group health insurance products are endorsed by reputable Associations, such as the ARRP and the American Bar Association and, many reputable Unions, such as the AFLCIO and the Teamsters. These organizations have long been recognized for bringing a common class of professionals or citizens together for other purposes that have very little to do with health insurance.
Membership commonly includes a wide range of other benefits in addition to discounted health insurance. Typically, the organizations have a governing organization, a constitution and bylaws, a set of officers, voting rights, regular membership meetings and a professional code of conduct.
Unfortunately, most individuals do not find out that they were making hefty monthly payments or premiums to fraudulent Associations or Unions until they have a severe condition that requires medical treatment. Usually, it isn't until after they receive treatment that they receive notice from their medical provider that the claim that was submitted to the insurance company was denied and that all the medical charges that were incurred are now their responsibility.
Often, the scheme starts when business owners are contacted by telephone or approached by someone who claims to represent a certain, official sounding, Association or Union. The business owner is then informed that if s/he becomes a member of the Association or joins the Union, s/he could qualify for a low cost group or individual health insurance plan.
Typically the Association or Union is promoted to represent self-employed individuals and small business owners. The low cost health insurance is usually presented as one of the many "perks" that the business owner can qualify for, in addition to many other "member" benefits, like discounts on other services, such as dental, eyeglasses, office supplies, hotels, rental cars, etc.
In many instances, these bogus companies involve licensed health insurance agents to sell their fraudulent health insurance products. Sometimes the "agents" know the products are fraudulent, other times, the "agent" also falls prey to the scheme.
Often, the schemes prey upon consumers who have been previously declined insurance coverage or suffer from a pre-existing condition. Since these consumers have very limited options to purchase private health insurance coverage, the benefits of an Association or Union membership that offers health insurance coverage for a "membership fee" or "union due" is enticing.
To the unsuspecting consumer that has a pre-existing medical condition or is paying high premiums for coverage, the "membership fee" or "union due" is a small price to pay for what they believe will be a quality health plan that provides "guaranteed" coverage with no "pre-existing condition exclusions" and no "waiting periods."
In many circumstances, the print materials that are left with the consumer are very well designed, however, the majority of the time, the language in the "health plan brochure," if there is one, is very unclear. The literature may name the entity that is authorized to act as the health plan administrator of the plan, but neglect to name the actual insurance company that is providing the health insurance coverage.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult for the consumer to separate the illegitimate companies selling official sounding health plans from the legitimate ones. Typically fraudulent health plans have many commonalities.
Here are 10 "Red Flags" that may indicate health insurance fraud:
1. The "agent" is not a licensed insurance agent but an "enrollment" or "membership" coordinator.
2. The term "discount plan" is written in the product literature, but the term health plan, health insurance or policy is frequently used by the plan promoter. Discount plans often provide nothing more than a discount for medical services, such as prescription medications, eyeglasses, dental, etc. These plans are not designed to offer major medical health insurance coverage.
3. The official sounding "Association or Union" is one that you have never heard of before.
4. The plan is referred to as an ERISA plan. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that allows employers to set up employee benefit plans for employees and their dependents. ERISA plans are not subject to state regulation and are not regulated by the state insurance commissioner. ERISA plans are normally not sold as health insurance, but are instead, established by employers, unions or groups acting on behalf of employers. Therefore, unsuspecting buyers believe these plans actually offer health insurance coverage, when if fact, they do not.
5. The buyer is told that the "membership fee or union dues" includes the health insurance premium, but there is no mention of the word "premium" in any of the plan literature.
6. The plan offers "guaranteed" insurance coverage with no exclusions for "pre-existing conditions" and no "waiting periods."
7. The plan is significantly cheaper in price than other health insurance plans.
8. The term "reinsured" is used in regards to the plan. Reinsurance is something insurance companies buy to protect themselves against their own risks. It is insurance for insurance companies. Licensed insurers rarely have their agents mention any of their reinsurance arrangements during a sales presentation.
9. If the Association or Union is comprised of members from all walks of life and/or requires its members to state that they belong to a certain trade, class or group of professionals that they have no affiliation with, for example, the Association or Union is said to be comprised of "Food and Beverage" workers, but "Florists" and "Machinists" are allowed to enroll as members.
10. If the Association or Union is said to have a special arrangement with a health insurance company, a plan administrator or another third party that has designed the plan using a legal "loophole" that allows members to purchase health insurance at a discounted rate or to purchase a individual or group health insurance policy.
So how can you protect yourself from falling victim to a fraudulent insurance scam? Make sure you contact your state's department of Insurance to determine if the health insurance company and the third-party administrator are licensed to do business in your state and make sure that the "agent" selling the plan is a "licensed health insurance agent." Additionally, make sure that the health insurance company has been approved to sell the particular policy that is being offered. Since it may be difficult to tell if fraud is involved, always put off buying your insurance policy until you have had the opportunity to perform your own due diligence.
©2007 Small Business Insurance Services, Inc.
Unfortunately, business owners do not always purchase items that are tangible items, in the sense that they can immediately determine the quality of the goods and/or services at the time of purchase. One example of such a purchase is health insurance. Since health insurance is not usually used immediately after purchase, the quality of care or the legitimacy of the policy may not even come into play until the business owner, or a family member, actually needs to have medical treatment. This is one of the primary reasons that many companies, often appearing legitimate, can get away with selling bogus health insurance coverage to unsuspecting business owners.
In most cases, fraudulent health insurance policies are sold to business owners by telemarketers or "agents" through bogus Associations and Unions. In that, the buyer must join a professional and/or trade association or become a union member to qualify for health insurance.
In fact, in a study published by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) in 2004, the GAO found that association schemes ranked at the top of the marketing methods followed by bogus health insurers. According to the report, "Employers and Individuals Are Vulnerable to Unauthorized or Bogus Entities Selling Coverage, between 2000 and 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor and state insurance regulators identified 144 unauthorized entities selling health insurance unlawfully. These entities defrauded 15,000 employers and more than 200,000 policyholders out of $252 million."
However, it is important to mention that many individual and group health insurance products are endorsed by reputable Associations, such as the ARRP and the American Bar Association and, many reputable Unions, such as the AFLCIO and the Teamsters. These organizations have long been recognized for bringing a common class of professionals or citizens together for other purposes that have very little to do with health insurance.
Membership commonly includes a wide range of other benefits in addition to discounted health insurance. Typically, the organizations have a governing organization, a constitution and bylaws, a set of officers, voting rights, regular membership meetings and a professional code of conduct.
Unfortunately, most individuals do not find out that they were making hefty monthly payments or premiums to fraudulent Associations or Unions until they have a severe condition that requires medical treatment. Usually, it isn't until after they receive treatment that they receive notice from their medical provider that the claim that was submitted to the insurance company was denied and that all the medical charges that were incurred are now their responsibility.
Often, the scheme starts when business owners are contacted by telephone or approached by someone who claims to represent a certain, official sounding, Association or Union. The business owner is then informed that if s/he becomes a member of the Association or joins the Union, s/he could qualify for a low cost group or individual health insurance plan.
Typically the Association or Union is promoted to represent self-employed individuals and small business owners. The low cost health insurance is usually presented as one of the many "perks" that the business owner can qualify for, in addition to many other "member" benefits, like discounts on other services, such as dental, eyeglasses, office supplies, hotels, rental cars, etc.
In many instances, these bogus companies involve licensed health insurance agents to sell their fraudulent health insurance products. Sometimes the "agents" know the products are fraudulent, other times, the "agent" also falls prey to the scheme.
Often, the schemes prey upon consumers who have been previously declined insurance coverage or suffer from a pre-existing condition. Since these consumers have very limited options to purchase private health insurance coverage, the benefits of an Association or Union membership that offers health insurance coverage for a "membership fee" or "union due" is enticing.
To the unsuspecting consumer that has a pre-existing medical condition or is paying high premiums for coverage, the "membership fee" or "union due" is a small price to pay for what they believe will be a quality health plan that provides "guaranteed" coverage with no "pre-existing condition exclusions" and no "waiting periods."
In many circumstances, the print materials that are left with the consumer are very well designed, however, the majority of the time, the language in the "health plan brochure," if there is one, is very unclear. The literature may name the entity that is authorized to act as the health plan administrator of the plan, but neglect to name the actual insurance company that is providing the health insurance coverage.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult for the consumer to separate the illegitimate companies selling official sounding health plans from the legitimate ones. Typically fraudulent health plans have many commonalities.
Here are 10 "Red Flags" that may indicate health insurance fraud:
1. The "agent" is not a licensed insurance agent but an "enrollment" or "membership" coordinator.
2. The term "discount plan" is written in the product literature, but the term health plan, health insurance or policy is frequently used by the plan promoter. Discount plans often provide nothing more than a discount for medical services, such as prescription medications, eyeglasses, dental, etc. These plans are not designed to offer major medical health insurance coverage.
3. The official sounding "Association or Union" is one that you have never heard of before.
4. The plan is referred to as an ERISA plan. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that allows employers to set up employee benefit plans for employees and their dependents. ERISA plans are not subject to state regulation and are not regulated by the state insurance commissioner. ERISA plans are normally not sold as health insurance, but are instead, established by employers, unions or groups acting on behalf of employers. Therefore, unsuspecting buyers believe these plans actually offer health insurance coverage, when if fact, they do not.
5. The buyer is told that the "membership fee or union dues" includes the health insurance premium, but there is no mention of the word "premium" in any of the plan literature.
6. The plan offers "guaranteed" insurance coverage with no exclusions for "pre-existing conditions" and no "waiting periods."
7. The plan is significantly cheaper in price than other health insurance plans.
8. The term "reinsured" is used in regards to the plan. Reinsurance is something insurance companies buy to protect themselves against their own risks. It is insurance for insurance companies. Licensed insurers rarely have their agents mention any of their reinsurance arrangements during a sales presentation.
9. If the Association or Union is comprised of members from all walks of life and/or requires its members to state that they belong to a certain trade, class or group of professionals that they have no affiliation with, for example, the Association or Union is said to be comprised of "Food and Beverage" workers, but "Florists" and "Machinists" are allowed to enroll as members.
10. If the Association or Union is said to have a special arrangement with a health insurance company, a plan administrator or another third party that has designed the plan using a legal "loophole" that allows members to purchase health insurance at a discounted rate or to purchase a individual or group health insurance policy.
So how can you protect yourself from falling victim to a fraudulent insurance scam? Make sure you contact your state's department of Insurance to determine if the health insurance company and the third-party administrator are licensed to do business in your state and make sure that the "agent" selling the plan is a "licensed health insurance agent." Additionally, make sure that the health insurance company has been approved to sell the particular policy that is being offered. Since it may be difficult to tell if fraud is involved, always put off buying your insurance policy until you have had the opportunity to perform your own due diligence.
©2007 Small Business Insurance Services, Inc.
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