Is Anastasiweb.com a fraud or not?

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 14 Apr 2003 08:44 PDT

I cannot find a Web site by that name.

Do you mean this site?

http://anastasiaweb.com/

Can you give us some details about precisely what you are needing? The
term "fraud" is rather vague (not to mention potentially libelous, if
a Researcher were to use it in reference to a particular business
endeavor). Would you like information about the mail-order bride
industry in general, or are you interested only in this one site?

The more you can tell us, the better we will be able to help you.

Hello pocoloci--

I have researched your question and have your answer.

You are asking about the web site anastasiaweb.com. You've asked
whether it is a fraud.

I have searched several non-profit watchdog databases and made several
public records inquiries about this company.

First I found that the company that owns this site is Anastasia
International, Inc. Its address is 46 Columbia Street, Bangor, ME
04401

I searched the Better Business Bureau database for Bangor, Maine. You
may do this by going to the following web site:
http://search.bbb.org/search.html

I found that the following information obtains to this company:

Original business start date:  1992 
Type of entity:  Corporation 
Principal:  Phillip Sykes, General Manager  
Number of employees:  20 
Phone number:  207-262-9595 
Fax Number:  207-262-3295  
Email address:  info@russianbrides.com 
Type of business:  DATING SERVICE
 
The Better Business Bureau of Bangor has given this company a
satisfactory record. This is the highest rating the BBB allots. This
means that the company has been receptive to any complaints they've
received. Below is the customer experience portion of its BBB report:

"Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has a satisfactory record with the
Bureau. Complaints processed by the Bureau in its three-year reporting
period have been resolved. The number and type of complaints are not
unusual for a company in this industry.

To have a "satisfactory record" with the Bureau, a company must be in
business for at least 12 months, properly and promptly address matters
referred to it by the Bureau, and be free from an unusual volume or
pattern of complaints and law enforcement action involving its
marketplace conduct. In addition, the Bureau must have a clear
understanding of the company's business and no concerns about its
industry."

Next, I searched the databases of the Federal Trade Commission. This
is the federal government agency that oversees consumer affairs. You
may search the databases, too. The link is http://www.ftc.gov/search

I searched the FTCs news releases, web site, commission actions, and
informal opinions databases. Nothing came up for Anastasia. This means
that this company does not have any current or pending federal
lawsuits against it by the FTC.

Finally, I searched the Maine Secretary of State's corporation
database. This is the state agency that Anastasia is responsible to
report any financial information. Anastasia has to file reports to the
Maine Secretary of State in order to do business in Maine. You may
search the Maine Secretary of State's corporation database, too. The
link is http://www.informe.org/icrs/ICRS

The Maine Secretary of State gives Anastasia a status of "good
standing."

I certainly hope this helps and answers your question. Please let me
know if you need any clarification or if you need further information.

Thank you,

Darrel

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Request for Answer Clarification by pocoloci-ga on 15 Apr 2003 02:42 PDT

Thank you for helping me out.  The reason for me asking is that I have
received 564 e-mails from women but as soon as the communication comes
to be serious they vanish from the site.  Which led me to question
whether the woman posted real letter or they just deprive me of money
(1600 USD so far).

I am much more intetested in how they operate on the other sidem that
is Ukraine and Russia to name the most important to me.

I know there are services that monitor thiese companies but I am not
able to find them.

If you could do just as good a job on that I am happy to pay.

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Clarification of Answer by darrel-ga on 18 Apr 2003 12:17 PDT

Hello pocoloci--

Thanks for your comments. I am looking into this further and am
waiting for calls back.

Darrel

in my opinion, anastasiaweb.com is a scam not in that they don't send the emails
  back and forth for a price, but in that the emails are not credible
  and seem designed only to solicit more business in the form of emails,
  phone calls, and even trips for the company.

after i posted my comment, 3 google-sponsored links for introduction
  services appeared above this thread.  i hope that google is not
  aiding scam artists.

i of course meant to say that aw SEEMS to me that it might be a scam
  in some respect,
  and that the emails SEEM not to be credible to me.
i also point out that there is no info given as to how many emails
  a given woman has received and answered.
i was told by a woman listed on a DIFFERENT service selling home addresses
  that she had received many hundreds of letters from men who had purchased
  her address.

If you want to feel cherished, Anastasia is the right place for you to
post your profile. After 3 weeks, I have received 418 mails ( from
4.7% of the women on Anastasia). Some of the mails were received
immediately after I had submitted my profile – Sunday at 11 pm CET
(I.E. 12 pm – 1 am Russian time).

As I see it, Anastasia has a script running - scanning the database
and then generating e-mails - which you have to pay Anastasia 9$ each
to open.  I really don’t think that there are any women involved in
this process :o)

Hi,

I don't know about you guys, but I have met my wife through
Anastasiaweb.com. I also have been getting a lot of emails at first.
But I think I have found someone I really love.

I am satisfied with Anastasiaweb services. I have read a lot of
negative information on their competitors websites and some of them
sound so ungrounded, that I decided to disregard them. Now I am
emailing through their website to a very nice young lady from Odessa,
whom I am going to visit next month, we are talking over the phone
with her every other day, so I thought some would like to hear
positive comments too.

Richy