Aren't there any MALE scammers?

First, it is a common misunderstanding that males are not already implicated in these scams. My guess is that at least 25-50% of the reported female scammers are actually a male using a female's photos without the female's knowledge or a male who as the owner/manager or in collusion with the female is actually the driving force behind the scam.

Whenever possible I try to issue a Scam Alert for these men. If I had a photo of the man I would post it also.

Unfortunately due to the very nature of this kind of fraud and communication these "male scammers" are not readily apparent or discovered. After all, the "women" are not sending photos of their male managers or the man behind the whole scheme is not sending photos of himself but of the "female persona" or female accomplice. In many cases persons are not even aware that it is a man behind the correspondence or scam-agency unless they pay attention to the "made payable to" or other details. I am not sure there is more that can be done in detecting the males behind these scams but I am open to ideas.

What about male scammers?

There may be a few foreign men who are taking advantage of Western women. But the problem is probably not common. I would be happy to start a new section of on the website to address this problem if it comes to my attention.

A Difference Between Deception and Fraud

Some people feel that men seeking foreign women who are dishonest, lying, deceitful, exaggerating or who have ulterior motives themselves should be labeled as "scammers" too and their identities published on websites like Scam Alert.

There is probably little doubt that some men are engaging in deception in one form or another in their communications over the Net as they try to meet women from abroad.

But this seems like the same situation as in the off-line world. When a man exaggerates or lies to his foreign correspondent it is like when he does so to the woman sitting at the bar next to him. We can certainly have a lot of empathy for women who have to deal with this crap but we need to examine whether this is really "fraud" (i.e. a scam) or mere deception/lying about certain things.

What amounts to a "SCAM?"

For purposes of the Scam Alert website:

The deception that rises to being a "scam" is that where financial harm results directly from the scammer's specific goal to obtain money from the correspondent--whether the attempt was completed or not.

True, there can be some bruised feelings when a man deceives his correspondent. But the difference is that his motivation when he lies, when he exaggerates, when he portrays himself dishonestly is the usual one of wanting to have sex, wanting to impress, wanting to win the girl. The motivation therefore is not one of wanting to obtain financial gain or take money from the girl.

While still morally reprehensible, this is completely different from the "scamming" or deception that is part of a larger scheme to obtain financial gain regardless of the harm to the victim or often multiple victims. This scheme coincides with making such deliberate fabricated expressions of love, of availability, of ability and willingness to travel to meet, or making false claims of illness, accidents having occurred and so forth. Reasonable persons can appreciate the difference then between the kind of fraud that is the subject of Scam Alert and the kind of deception that is sometimes practiced by both men and women for other non-economic reasons.

Because of a number of external factors, it appears unlikely that there is much scamming as defined above on the part of Western men upon foreign women that is occurring. That is why you probably will not see any profiles on Scam Alert or on other websites of Western men who are merely being deceitful but not conducting a monetary fraud (scam).

Of course it is distasteful that a man would be deceptive in his communications with sincere women in the first place. But unless it is coupled with an economic motive, such deception doesn't rise to being a "scam" that would be appropriate for this website.

Some Serious Advice for the Ladies

Without a doubt there are bad guys out there. These are the men that just want to find a submissive domestic servant, a sex doll, a trophy, or whatever (fill in the blank) and who are, to put it simply, real losers. There isn't much that a foreign woman can do when she encounters one of these jerks. The smart woman will take the time to get to know her correspondent. Time can be your friend and the more you know about the guy the better. If possible, before you get married do not hesitate to have his background investigated and also meet his family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Above all follow your intuition. If it doesn't seem right then even returning home can be a better choice than remaining in such a situation.

Some REALLY Serious Advice for the Ladies

This is a special warning for all foreign ladies who are looking to go abroad either to work or who are responding to advertising or some other enticement. There are some VERY bad guys out there that I pray that you never come across. These people are promising work and travel to the destination country (often by illegally smuggling you across international borders.) When you arrive, your passport and papers will be confiscated and you will be told that you must pay off the cost of your transportation via a nightmarish hell of forced prostitution. Living conditions are often brutal. Rape is common. And some persons have even been killed. This is serious. Governments and law enforcement authorities are only now making some progress to curb this problem. See this page for more info: Human Trafficking

So ladies, do please be carefull!

Sincerely,
The Author