Ukranians too poor to have cellphones?

[alenika]

He just doesn't have to spend money. If he doesn't send her money, if he is not paying outrageous fees for some agency, what is he losing exactly other than a bit of time?

Exactly. And if he doesn't like her then just stop talking. But if he likes her then why to stop talking? There are questions? Ask them.

[TomT]

Another approach would be for JC to make a gift of a new cell phone to the object of his suspicions so that she can then let her impoverished sisters use her old phone on a permanent basis. Sometimes, it's even worth a few hundred to see what falls out when one shakes the tree.

[Olga_Mouse]

Sometimes, it's even worth a few hundred to see what falls out when one shakes the tree.

  An apple and a snake... no, rather an apple and Isaac Newton  

[I/O]

Hi, dear Jean, Of course, i can give you my mobile number. It's xxxxxxx. The best time to call me is during the day, around 11o'clock and till 5p.m. ok? because usually in the evening i give my phone to my sisters as they are at work and don't have a phone now, but my mom worry about them all the time. So, we share one phone for three

In other words, Boris won't be around between 11 and 5 so it's just the two of you but once he gets home in the evening, well..................

[Donhollio]

 Getting back to my Belarusian babe, even with the hours she asked me to call her at , I still managed to get 'her dad' on the other end telling me she was not home yet.  On my very first call to her we spoke for an hour, she was a blast to talk to. Really made it all the worse knowing it was all a con job, but she held up like a trooper going over the parapit.
She only faltered when I asked her some questions that may of given out too much info for a scammer, but was within the norms of a honest sincere girl.  To add to her lie she even handed the phone to her 'dad' so I could say hello to him.
 She claimed she didn't understand what I had said, yet she had excellent English comprehension up to that point.
And when I wrote my final letter to her I told her, I would of gladly paid her to be my guide while in Belarus.

[JeanClaude]

Getting back to my Belarusian babe, even with the hours she asked me to call her at , I still managed to get 'her dad' on the other end telling me she was not home yet.  On my very first call to her we spoke for an hour, she was a blast to talk to. Really made it all the worse knowing it was all a con job, but she held up like a trooper going over the parapit.
She only faltered when I asked her some questions that may of given out too much info for a scammer, but was within the norms of a honest sincere girl.  To add to her lie she even handed the phone to her 'dad' so I could say hello to him.
 She claimed she didn't understand what I had said, yet she had excellent English comprehension up to that point.
And when I wrote my final letter to her I told her, I would of gladly paid her to be my guide while in Belarus.

Don, how did you find out she was fake?

[Donhollio]

Getting back to my Belarusian babe, even with the hours she asked me to call her at , I still managed to get 'her dad' on the other end telling me she was not home yet.  On my very first call to her we spoke for an hour, she was a blast to talk to. Really made it all the worse knowing it was all a con job, but she held up like a trooper going over the parapit.
She only faltered when I asked her some questions that may of given out too much info for a scammer, but was within the norms of a honest sincere girl.  To add to her lie she even handed the phone to her 'dad' so I could say hello to him.
 She claimed she didn't understand what I had said, yet she had excellent English comprehension up to that point.
And when I wrote my final letter to her I told her, I would of gladly paid her to be my guide while in Belarus.

Don, how did you find out she was fake?

 First off I couldn't recall where I had wrote her from. So weeks had passed, maybe even a few months, then out of the blue she writes. Not that it is a red flag. But home phone line was very good quality, too good from my experience.

 Second...I searched out prefix numbers in BY and found out it was a mobile number, not the land line in her home as she told me.  BY only has one mobile prefix, the number 7 is in every mobile.
Remember she told me her phone was in the shop getting repaired, that's another warning sign. She would most likely have a extra phone. Or access to borrow another phone, though it may be outdated in style, it still is better than having NO PHONE.  

 When a girl has excellent English comprehension and has no problems having a conversation, but ask a question as simple as her last name, and she comes back with , " Sorry what was that, I didn't understand."  But she then asks a couple of quick questions in the hope you'll let your Q pass. It happened a few times with the few phone calls I had with her.
 3rd  I told her I will come visit her, but she was now working late, busy with everything else I had told her I'd been to the FSU, but needed her home address to process the visitor visa.  This was the final blow as she gave a prospect (street) but failed to give the apartment numbers.  I asked over and over, finally I got Linda a woman who lives in BY to dig around for me.  Linda came back with some excellent info.

 This is 2010, if a girl says she has no mobile phone, I would be very very sceptical she was telling the truth.

[1msmoby]

  An apple and a snake... no, rather an apple and Isaak Newton  

Ms Mouse, 'we' would spell it IsaaC .. I know you'd want to know

[Olga_Mouse]

Ms Mouse, 'we' would spell it IsaaC .. I know you'd want to know

Thanks Moby    corrections duly made 

[JeanClaude]

Getting back to my Belarusian babe, even with the hours she asked me to call her at , I still managed to get 'her dad' on the other end telling me she was not home yet.  On my very first call to her we spoke for an hour, she was a blast to talk to. Really made it all the worse knowing it was all a con job, but she held up like a trooper going over the parapit.
She only faltered when I asked her some questions that may of given out too much info for a scammer, but was within the norms of a honest sincere girl.  To add to her lie she even handed the phone to her 'dad' so I could say hello to him.
 She claimed she didn't understand what I had said, yet she had excellent English comprehension up to that point.
And when I wrote my final letter to her I told her, I would of gladly paid her to be my guide while in Belarus.

Don, how did you find out she was fake?

 First off I couldn't recall where I had wrote her from. So weeks had passed, maybe even a few months, then out of the blue she writes. Not that it is a red flag. But home phone line was very good quality, too good from my experience.

 Second...I searched out prefix numbers in BY and found out it was a mobile number, not the land line in her home as she told me.  BY only has one mobile prefix, the number 7 is in every mobile.
Remember she told me her phone was in the shop getting repaired, that's another warning sign. She would most likely have a extra phone. Or access to borrow another phone, though it may be outdated in style, it still is better than having NO PHONE.  

 When a girl has excellent English comprehension and has no problems having a conversation, but ask a question as simple as her last name, and she comes back with , " Sorry what was that, I didn't understand."  But she then asks a couple of quick questions in the hope you'll let your Q pass. It happened a few times with the few phone calls I had with her.
 3rd  I told her I will come visit her, but she was now working late, busy with everything else I had told her I'd been to the FSU, but needed her home address to process the visitor visa.  This was the final blow as she gave a prospect (street) but failed to give the apartment numbers.  I asked over and over, finally I got Linda a woman who lives in BY to dig around for me.  Linda came back with some excellent info.

 This is 2010, if a girl says she has no mobile phone, I would be very very sceptical she was telling the truth.

I am really wondering how scammers can work from Belarus, cause you need full/name address etc, to apply for visa! I mean she cannot hide with a fake id, or she has to bribe some official.  So if she is talking to you and she is not asking for money to be send via Western Union/MoneyGram/Whatever, i am wondering what her MO was.

Maybe the "kickback" scam?

[Donhollio]

 I'm quite sure it would of been a money request, there is little else it could be IMO.  I think my working knowledge of the FSU, made them realise that I was not an easy target to fleece for money.  If I had no knowledge, I would not have known anything about the visa requirements, and she could of gave me a monetary amount to pay her to fill them out. 
 They may have wanted to bait me longer, get me all dreamy about the girl, and then give a sad story about ill health and can you help  <---- BTW HRH looks like shes wearing a wig you see in a UK court of law.  So there are different methods the scumbags will try to get you sending them money. Staying at a place like this, will keep your money where it belongs... in your pocket. 

[Stirlitz]

Be prepared to do the gentlemanly thing and offer to send her money for the call as receiving calls from the USA on a cell phone in Russia or Ukraine usually carries a rather hefty per minute charge.

ALL incoming calls are free in Ukraine, and in Russia it does not matter where the call originates from, the minute charge depends only on the 'tariff plan' used.

[ECR844]

If she can't afford a cell phone; how can she afford to get on the internet?

[JeanClaude]

If she can't afford a cell phone; how can she afford to get on the internet?

Again you are reading only half the story, she DOES has a cellphone, but will not take calls outside the window of 11am-5pm

[mendeleyev]

There is a new topic called "JeanClaude and others arguing" in the Off Topic and Heated Discussion area. Please take those discussions there.

Please this thread on the topic of "Are Ukrainian Girls too Poor to have Cell phones."