Dear friends,
Online dating in 2025 offers endless opportunities to connect with people from around the world—but it also comes with serious risks. If you’re using international dating sites to meet women from Russia or Eastern Europe, one of the biggest threats you face is falling into the trap of a romance scam.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at one known scammer who’s been reported by multiple users: Alena Sabova. If you’ve come across this name—or think you’re chatting with someone who seems too good to be true—this article is for you.
You may ask: Is she real? What are the signs she’s scamming me? What should I do if I’ve already sent money or shared personal info?
This guide will help you spot the red flags, understand how this scam works, and know what steps to take to protect yourself. Don’t become another victim of emotional manipulation and financial loss. Read on to stay informed and stay safe.
Reasons Why You Can Trust Krystyna
- Faithfully reviewed over 500 International online dating and matchmaking services
- She has been testing online dating services for over 10 years.
- Top Coach at the CoachFoundation.com
- Author of dating ebooks, including ‘International Dating Digest For Men: Finding Love Overseas’.
- Krystyna answers dating and relationship questions on Quora.com
- Personalized matchmaking support
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- Genuine Ukrainian women for dating
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- Over 40,000 beautiful foreign women
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- Most users are 25 years old and above
- Offers a free-to-download mobile app
How does this scam process work?
So, how does a scam like this actually unfold? It often starts with a beautiful woman who seems kind, genuine, and full of charm. Her messages feel personal—she shares “deep” thoughts, writes long letters, and opens up quickly. Before you know it, she’s telling you how special you are and how badly she wants to meet in person.
Sounds flattering, right? That’s the point.
In one reported case, just a week after messaging began, the woman claimed she had secured a visa and was ready to travel. All she needed was a little help—specifically, for the man to cover half the travel costs. She directed him to a so-called “travel agency” in Moscow named Travel Bonus. Spoiler: the agency didn’t exist, and neither did her travel plans.
Scammers use emotion to build trust fast. The faster they move, the easier it is to get you to lower your guard—and open your wallet.
Don’t Be Fooled by Fake Interest: The Truth About Alena Sabova
Here’s my honest advice: be careful—no matter how sweet or sincere a woman seems online. In the case of Alena Sabova, she may come across as kind, charming, and genuinely excited to get to know you. But behind that warm smile and thoughtful messages is something much colder: a scam.
It doesn’t take long before the truth starts to show. After just a few friendly conversations, you suddenly receive a message from a so-called travel agency asking for money. That’s the red flag you can’t ignore. The agency is fake. The travel plans aren’t real. And Alena? She’s not interested in you—only your wallet.
Scammers like this don’t care about your feelings, your hopes, or your future. They only care about getting your trust—and then your money.
If something feels off, trust your instincts. Real love doesn’t come with a bill attached. Stay sharp, ask questions, and don’t let anyone rush you into financial decisions.
Last Updated & Reviewed: June 05, 2025
Meet Krystyna, an esteemed international dating expert, blogger, and the founder of Ukrainian Dating Blog. With over 1000 articles published in English and German, she specializes in cross-cultural relationships, prevalent dating topics, and tackling romance scams.
Kristina,
This is a sad tale to be told but a realistic one. I got all the answers to my questions, from James, that I wanted. All the other quesitons that I do have are simply small detail oriented questions that can only be answered once I’m in Kharkov. I’m glad James found his other half and hope the best for him 🙂
Now, about that scammer…..
Your article nearly made my heart stop. It wasn’t because the scammer was from russia or that russia and Ukraine share the same culture(and because of this I could get scammed by a Ukrainian woman). No, when you wrote this article I realized that ALL women, from ANY country, including the U.S.A have scammers that care nothing about a man or his emotions. It’s almost as if I wanted to give up my search right then and there when you wrote that article 🙁
I want the truth, but damn…the truth can hurt and I don’t want to get hurt by any scammer simply because I want to go such a long distance to find what I want. If I want to get scammed I would at least appreciate getting scammed from a woman in hawaii. That way I don’t have too much on the line as far as both time and money is concerned.
But, I’m glad that you wrote the truth and I will continue my learning journey. But, it does make me scared though….
Mahalo from hawaii,
Hilton
Hi Hilton,
I wrote this article because I wanted to to warn my readers of Russian & Ukrainian online dating scammers. I (or my words) did not want to make you scared…
My message means that the men have to be very careful – it is very easy to become a victim of scam. But there are some simple rules that help you not to get scammed by “fake” Ukrainian or Russian women (and I have written several times about the scam on my blog). The most important rule is: do not send any money to a woman you do not know!!!!!. Speaking honestly, the man may be a fool if he sends money (in this case, $340) on the first request of a “travel agent” or “translation agency”. I would ask myself why the travel agent writes to me, not to Alena. Alena could tell me that she needs financial support and I have to send her money for the ticket. This is the first sign of the Ukrainian & Russian dating scam if a “foreign” company sends you a mail on necessary payment for various services (letter or phone translation, tickets, drugs for the sick mother, etc.). If the woman has financial problems, she should tell you.
In conclusion, I have to mention that International (African, Thai or Latin) as well as local (e.g. U.S.-American or German) dating has scammers (not only Russian and Ukrainian). Therefore, you have to be careful everywhere. But already a little common sense and good considerations can warn you of scammers.
And remember – there are many women in Ukraine who want to start a genuine relationship with a Western man and can make you (very) happy. And their number is much more than scammers’. 🙂
Regards,
Krystyna
Krystyna,
Well, it certainly all makes sense about what you wrote and that using common sense and rational would be the order of the day in the Ukraine. For this reason, I have kept in constant contact with Michael Mordinson in Kharkov because I know that he doesn a good job of trying to weed out the scammers.
Like I said, keep the articles coming because I need to become more aware of the tricks used to get any man to send money to a woman for any reason without me knowing that woman first.
With that said, I have personally just begun learning Russian and although it’s tough I love it 🙂
I’m starting later than I wanted to because I actually wanted to start learning in November but I am presently having a fairly large Log home being built and it’s taking alot of my time. But, finally, I’m able to start my Russian studies.
Merry Christmas, or in our hawaiian language we say ‘Mele Kalikamaka’ which means Merry Christmas 🙂
Mahalo from Hawaii,
Hilton