How to not be a victim of Relationship Fraud

It’s no secret that the Philippines produces a good number of foreign brides each year to Western men. Many women seek a better life from the poverty and widespread problems there, others are looking for something different, the money.

There are many successful marriages and lasting relationships that come from the exportation of Philippine brides. There are an equal number of women (and men) scamming Westerners out of the hard earned cash. The Internet has made meeting these women easy, and with beautiful brides awaiting, how does one know the relationship is real? Is she who she says she is?

Most relationships today begin on the Internet, or for a few, with a business trip or vacation to the Philippines. Developing a relationship on the Internet raises the risk level considerably. The best way to avoid fraud and scams (mainly advance fee fraud) is to visit the person and see who exactly you’re dealing with. Spend some time in her country and get to know her on a real and personal level. With today’s professional fraud groups, it can be difficult to know the difference between love and scam.

Avoid sending money and be skeptical of “emergencies”. Get to know the person slowly via the Internet, and follow up with phone conversations if the relationship progresses. Be wary of requests for money. And don’t be crazy. If you’re thinking of marriage, invest in the effort to visit the Philippines before beginning any serious commitment. Lastly, if all looks good and you think you may have found the real thing, get the confidential background check by Wymoo International, and sleep well at night!

Be safe and happy hunting,

A. Hathaway

Copyright © 2005-2007 A. Hathaway

There’s only one good thing about breaking up and that’s making up, especially during the holidays. Why do people fall in love and the end up crying? Breaking up is something like untying a rope to a tree; breaking a glass or tearing a piece of paper. Being meant to be in a relationship in spite of the obstacle the couple encounter is not possible so long if any of them will do the first move to initiate the make up. If love is still prevailing, why not cope up the lost time?

I will share to you the love story of my friend. I had known this relationship because I was the “sumbungan” of their happy and sad memories of their relationship.

THE BREAK-UP:

“Looking back, I know that I freaked out; I became a commitment-phobe,’ says 25-year-old Samantha. After she graduated from college in 2002, Samantha returned home to- leaving behind Dave, her boyfriend of two years. ” Dave still had another year of school left,’ says Samantha. “We were totally in love, and I tried very hard to do the long- distance- relationship thing- we would see each other almost every weekend. But eventually we got so caught up in our own lives that we practically stopped talking.”

After a series of strained phone conversations, Samantha and Dave ended their relationship. Determined to make the most of her new freedom, Samantha began to date “a lot”, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Dave. No matter how many dinner dates she laughed through, he was on her mind: “I kept asking myself, how I could have let him go?’

The breakup wasn’t easy for Dave either. “When we ended, I was so upset, “remembers Dave, 24. “I missed Samantha terribly, but there was nothing I could do. She was in Cagayan; I was in Manila. I just had to get on with my life.”

THE MAKE-UP:

When Dave graduated a year later, he moved to Cebu City. Unknown to him, Samantha had also moved to the city to pursue her medical course. Then at 7:00 on New Year’s morning, Samantha received a call that made her heart sink. Her best friend was phoning to say that she had been to a bar the night before and had bumped into Dave- with his new girlfriend, a beautiful blond. “When my friend told me she saw Dave with another girl, I cried my eyes out and called him immediately, “Samantha recounts. ” It was vey weird. I cried even more on the phone. I just missed him so much.”

Understandably, Dave had his reservations. “I didn’t want to get hurt,” he says, “but I couldn’t not see her.” He agreed to meet Samantha for a holiday drink.

Samantha recalls her feelings when she met Dave again: “I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. My hands were shaking. The conversation was very awkward. We were both trying to pretend that life over the past year had been great, when in truth we were both hiding a lot of sadness.” But says Samantha with a big grin, “A couple of drinks were just like old times again.”

The evening ended with a good-night kiss, and they quickly picked up their relationship where they’d left off. “We fell in love all over again,” Dave says. “That was two years ago. Now. I can’t imagine life without her.” And that other blond? Promptly banished to Christmas past.