You say she looks like a covergirl? You might be surprised to find out that she really is! There are a number of well known scams where photomodels' photos have been used by scammers. Most real girls have normal, non-studio photos. Many scammers have just the opposite available to you, studio photos and no normal photos.

The bottom line: If she looks too good to be true she probably is.

Some scammers, especially those operating as individuals, are proactively contacting men who place a personal on various websites. In this situation one must really follow their instincts. Is she 17 years old and drop dead gorgeous while, frankly, you could be mistaken for Stephen King? Unless you ARE Stephen King and she is attracted to talented, wealthy, married men, you should ask a lot of questions about what exactly compelled her to write to you. Of course, if you are genuinely a good catch by many women's assessment and you have put yourself out there like this, then it would be natural to expect a number of unsolicited contacts. What ever the case, always exercise caution from the beginning when you do not initiate the contact.

(TIP: In your initial response, inquire politely, just how the woman paid to respond to your personal. Almost all free personals websites offer the ability to post a profile for free but require payment or subscription from both men and women in order to write to someone. Generally, this requires a credit card which typically only the top income earners in Russia and the Ukraine may have. Make sure her "explanation" conforms with her later statements regarding her "financial situation.")

9 out 10 times that someone writes to you out of the blue it will be a scam.

The bottom line: Real women of all sorts prefer to be chased.

We have a little fun with this in the "Top Ten" list but it it should be an obvious warning sign. Don't buy explanations that it was the translator's fault or the agency's fault. It WAS in fact the agency's fault. They merely sent the wrong scam letter to you.

The bottom line: This is rarely, if ever, acceptable.

Scammers are excellent at "cutting and pasting" and "form letters". They have many stock letters at the ready and just insert your name at the very beginning. Perhaps for an introductory letter or a first reply to your response to her personal ad, this might be considered acceptable. But if it continues after the first letter it is definitely a Warning Sign. Sometimes you may actually be able to notice that your name (and sometimes even her name if an agency is using the stock letter for several women) are in a different font type or size from the body of the letter.

(TIP: As in oral communications (and most western cultures) the level of social interaction between the two communicators should naturally parallel each other. In other words, if you use her name a lot in your letters to her, the natural expectation is for her to mirror your level of familiarity. If she doesn't or tries to mask this with substitutes like "honey", "sugar", "darling" and so forth in the body of the letter then be on guard.)

The bottom line: When you receive one of these e-mails, you should feel about as emotionally involved as when you receive spam.

Scammers of the first level are generally too busy scamming to bother to personalize their letters. Their modus operandi is to scam as many persons as possible as quickly as possible and if they can get even a small percentage of their victims to fall for their schemes it will be worthwhile. This particularly applies to scammer Agencies and to an individual offering a number of women's profiles via a "dummy" Agency but who is actually doing the work herself or himself.

But be careful! Scammers of the second level are more devious. These will personalize their letters and make it seem like you are writing to a real person. These scammers are very sophisticated and take their time to develop their scam. Only when you are well along the way in your relations will the other Warning Signs start to appear.

(TIP: If you receive an impersonal letter that discusses the "earth, wind and fire" but not a single word about anything you have written or asked, reply with a stock letter about the "sun, moon and ice" when she gets around to asking for money. It will be very funny.)

The bottom line: Real girls write letters about real life and not about "sugar and spice and everything nice."

Scammers don't really care who you are as a person. They are not interested in forming a real relationship with you so their ads are very broad in the requirements for a partner. Any age, any race, any physical type, indeed anybody is eligible to be scammed by them.

Even if her ad is general in its requirements, a real woman desiring a partner will always be interested in the details as the communication proceeds.

The bottom line: The devil is in the details.

One dead giveaway that an Agency is at work is when several profiles have a description or information that is word for word verbatim of another profile.

This is either the handywork of a scammer Agency or a lazy Agency and you don't want to have dealings with either.

The bottom line: Real individuals, even at agencies, have their own unique perspective and desires and this will be reflected in what they say in their profile.

Scammers are in the business of writing letters and fostering these false relationships. Real women have lives of their own and many other daily concerns. Remember how hard or busy she described her life to be? Then how come she is spending some time every day at the Agency or the "internet cafe"?

The bottom line: If sometimes it seems like she was just sitting at the computer waiting to write back to you it's because she was. After all, it's her (or his) job.

Think about your email communications with people you know. Now and then you might write or receive a long e-mail but often you write and receive only a few lines or perhaps a couple of paragraphs. Real communication with a real woman should look almost the same because whether she is a student or working or even out of work, she should have a real life and other concerns. Scammers are in the business of writing e-mail so their letters are almost always long.

Yes, if a real woman is using a translator or paying the Agency on a cost per page basis, there might be some tendency to make each e-mail count by including much information. But even in this situation, you should receive the occasional one-liner.

The bottom line: In this situation don't mistake quantity for quality.

This tactic is almost humorous. Let's be honest. What first attracted you to her profile or personal ad? It was that gorgeous photo of her! The scammer knows exactly why you wrote her in the first place and it isn't because she says she "enjoys cooking and reading Dostoevsky." Appealing to men's sexual desire is the oldest, easiest and most effective way to keep men's attention and your mind from putting together the subtle inconsistencies. The scammer using this tactic wants you to forget that knot in your gut that is telling you something is wrong and wants to focus your attention on the sensations a little lower instead.

As mentioned above, real women usually do not have many photos scanned online to send in the first place. But scammers have many and they will send you one sexy photo after another. Even the innocent looking photos are designed to win you over by showing you that she is not just a glamourous person.

The bottom line: Never watch the magician's hands.

There is a time for hyperbole but personal e-mail communications between two new correspondents who are trying to learn about each other is generally not one of them. When she thinks you are "absolutely wonderful" "so marvelous" and "completely mesmerizing" after three emails then it is time for you to check your wallet as you go to look at yourself in the mirror.

If she starts to make you feel like you can "walk on water" it is only because she wants you to step out of the boat.

The bottom line: Better check your wallet as you check the mirror.

No, we are not talking about having arcane knowledge, but rather the fact that she seems to like every single very tiny detail about you. Amazingly, there is absolutely nothing a scammer will find boring about what you say, what you do in your spare time and so forth. A real woman, even if she did not tell you bluntly, would not be so enthralled with every detail and this should be manifest in the "tone" of her letters.

The bottom line: This should be a Warning Sign even for real women!