Now this can be a legitimate request as access to the Net is not so free and easy as it may be for you. Whether you should consider this a Warning Sign depends on the particular circumstances including how she has access to the Internet. If she is using "a friend's computer" or her own then her costs should be minimal. (Incidently, if she has her own computer and internet access from home she is either relatively well-off or this is her job.)

On the other hand if she is using an Internet cafe or an Agency then you can expect to be asked to reimburse her for her expenses. In the Author's opinion, mentioning costs of translation agencies or Internet cafes right away is more to the girl's credit than after the third letter or posing the situation as a sudden turn of events. Many agencies state in the beginning that you may exchange a couple of letters and then charges will start to apply. Look for other Warning Signs to make the determination.

(TIP: most agencies have several levels of payment or state simply that "one letter is $ 5, ten is $ 40, etc." It may seem like a hassle and if you wire the money you will end up paying a little more in transaction fees, but consider sending only the minimum amount the first few times. If it is a scam they will have to string you out a while before "cutting you loose" as opposed to if you wire them $ 50 or a $ 100 the first time. During this time you may see some of the other Warning Signs and only be out of pocket a smaller amount in the long run. The bottom line: Never send more money than you don't mind losing.

One word: "FUHGETABOUTIT!"

This seems to be one of the most classic scams around and one of the costliest for the uninformed. This scam works well because the scammer running this Scenario spends a lot of time developing a "pseudo-relationship" and will personalize her communication. You should know that a visa other than the "fiancee visa" to the United States cannot be had by a single woman of low income from Russia, the Ukraine or many other lands of the CIS in almost every circumstance. This includes "tours to NYC", "aunts who are travel agents", "descendants of diplomats" etc. etc.!

Of course it may be possible to obtain a visa to certain other countries so if this is the situation, keep in mind that such a proposal is not confirmation of a scam and just check your own nation's visa requirements and costs before assuming what she is telling you is accurate.

If you are from the United States or most other countries, you almost certainly will have to go there first to visit any woman you are correponding with in Russia or the Ukraine.

The bottom line: Start planning now.

This scam goes part in parcel with the Visa scam and is more insidious when the request for travel money is for travel to countries where it is actually possible to visit with or without a Visa. You really should not violate Scam Alert's Prime Directive for the Internet correspondent, but if you must then at least have the smarts to make the arrangements yourself using a good credit card on a refundable basis.

The bottom line: She should be thrilled that you will take care of the arrangements for her.

These are all common reasons scammers use. They are designed to play upon your sympathy. Unless you have met the person and actually cultivated a long-term relationship such a request is probably a scam. Most genuine ladies would not ask a virtual stranger that they are trying to impress for money even in one of these circumstances.

(TIP: If you really are the big hearted type, offer to send her just a small sum ($ 25) saying that it is all that you can send at this time. Judge her reaction carefully. Remember, in Russia and the Ukraine this amount is not paltry, in fact, it is almost a full month's average wage, so anything less than genuine appreciation for whatever you can do is a sure sign that the request was just a scam. If you are dealing with a scammer though expect everything from silence to assertions that you are greedy or don't love her. But most likely she will be indignant. Imagine they spent all this personal time on you and then the pay off is so small! They could have just sent you form letters and run the Standard Scenario!)

The bottom line: Keep your sympathy in check and follow your instincts.

Although it is not a guaranteed way to avoid being scammed, you should always obtain your correspondent's personal postal address.

If an Agency forbids its "client" from giving you her address then there is something seriously wrong with the situation and you should consider it a large Warning Sign.

The questions are raised of "who is working for whom?" and "just who is the client?" It should be pointed out to the Agency that in normal business relationships, the "client" usually has a say in the terms of the service, especially when it comes to serving as a "translator" for the client's communication. One begins to wonder just how influential the translator is and what other censorship is being practiced.

However, beyond these philosophical reasons, there simply is no economic justification for an Agency maintaining such a policy and this should be made clear to the Agency. An Agency which is legitimately providing internet access and/or translation services will likely remain necessary. Furthermore, an Agency's goal should always be to facilitate the introduction and communication between its client and you!

It should be recognized that there are many ways to communicate via the regular post with your correspondent including sending photos, post cards, audio, drawings, objects, gifts, etc. These forms of communication do not require any translation at all! Therefore, an Agency cannot claim that allowing its clients to "bypass" the Agency via the regular post would hurt its normal business services and if it does then it does not have the interests of the "client" at heart.

The only instance in which it may be considered appropriate for an Agency to deny your request for the girl's address is when the agency sells her address as part of its service. Although still distasteful, at least you can plainly see where the Agency is generating a fair revenue. Depending on the nature of the business and the way it gathers its client's information, this may be ok. The bottom line: Censorship is bad business!

A sincere woman who is interested in getting to know you will never refuse your request for her address. This is especially true when you explain that you desire to get to know her as fully as possible and in as many ways as possible. It is helpful to point out the above ways that you can communicate without the need for translation (should this be her chief concern) and help her to see that using every avenue of communication will help you to get to know each other.

Like asking for money for email costs, this circumstance may or may not be a sign of a scammer. Many people throughout the world use a free e-mail service like Yahoo, Juno, Hotmail. In Russia and Ukraine some of the more popular ones are Mail.ru, Yandex.ru, Hotbox.ru, ukr.net, etc. Although the situation is changing, in these lands there remain three primary ways of accessing the Internet: 1) from work or school; 2) via an Agency or 3) via an "Internet cafe". Some people may claim to use "a friend or relative's computer" who either has access at home or work.

Basically what you need to remember is if her access is by any source other than an Agency or Internet cafe, she shouldn't have to worry about regular costs and only have to reimburse or contribute to her friend or relative's costs once in a while. [If this is the case keep your eyes wide open for the Illness, Accident, Visa and Travel Scenarios which forgo the nickel and diming of internet expenses for the jackpot of these scams.]

The real problem from a relationship point of view is that unlike a work address or even an AOL account, the ease of a free email service allows people to create an identity that is virtually untraceable.

Note: If she changes email addresses during your correspondence from one free mail box to another, it could be a sign that she has been "busted" or that her first email provider has received complaints and deleted the account. In that event you might wish to write to the email service provider and inquire about the previous email address and whether it was deleted by the user or if there was abuse or complaints reported.

The bottom line: Easy come, easy GONE!

Now right off the bat you should know that at any of these "free-to-post-personals" websites you are going to find a mixture of sincere and "scammer" persons. Of course, other than in person or by reference or in some random way, there are only two general ways you are going to "meet" these girls: at such a free-to-post-personals website or via an "Agency". So if Agencies have to be approached with caution and these free-to-post-personals also have a lot of scammers what is a guy to do?

The best thing to do is to keep on a lookout for the other Warning Signs listed here. Additionally, here are some things to watch out for:

1) Does she have more than one profile posted? It has been my experience that real persons post only one time but that scammers or Agencies (whether scammers or just parasites) post multiple times. Scroll through the profiles or search the same parameters and see if you find any others.

2) Similarly, do you find more than one profile with different information such as name, ages, locations, etc. Naturally why would these be different if the person was real?

3) Did her profile disappear? Shortly after you begin to write regularly to each other go back and check to see if her original profile is still where you found it. Do this once a week. A real person is going to leave her profile there until she gets committed or finds her true love. But if the profile is gone then it could have been removed by the host because of received complaints; or the photos, identity and location of that profile may have become known to the anti-scammer forces and the scammers may have removed it because of this; or the scammer has adopted a pattern of placing a profile, luring a few correspondents in and then removing it so as to avoid detection.

Note: If the profile is there you may wish to try the tactic of writing again using a different "identity". Receiving the same "introductory response". What you should be looking for as you carry on this second correspondence is whether the "emotional connection" is the same, i.e. is she also telling you as this second identity that she "loves you", "wants to be with you", etc. If so, you know she is not sincere.

4) Are you going to be dealing with an agency? The chances are more likely that you will be dealing with an Agency if the photos have a studio or blank background or are otherwise professional in nature. Also, if this is the case then it is most likely that the girl herself did not post her profile but that the Agency did it for her. Keep this in mind in your early correspondence and also don't be shocked to suddenly find yourself facing a middleman (or middlewoman). This is only my preference, but it seems more advisable to deal with a real woman that has natural photos then even a real woman who is using a legitimate agency for several reasons. If you are dealing with an Agency then it can be legitimate or it may be a scam and you will have to take into consideration all of the other factors involved here. It isn't always possible to have a situation without an Agency as some persons with limited Net-access or limited english skills may have to rely on these services.

So while dealing with an Agency (that otherwise doesn't possess any of the other Warning Signs) can be OK, if your "relationship" or communications seems to be or becomes more about keeping the Agency as a middleman instead of helping you two to get acquainted, then you have to ask yourself the bottom line question.

The bottom line: Did you want to meet a girl or did you want to meet an Agency?

Although the use of a web-host is not by itself a sign of a scammer Agency, it is obviously easy to see just how simple it would be to set up a scam operation using such a service. Check the top level domain name for signs that it is "free"

It seems dubious that a legitimate business would both rely upon a free web-host and be too cheap to pay for the "no banner advertisements" usually offered by such hosts, so if you do see that banners are going that is an indication that there may be something wrong and also that the web-host will have limited info on the company. It should be noted that there are many good businesses taking advantage of these free web-hosts but on balance, the ease with which an individual may establish such a cyberstorefront façade is a fact too dangerous to ignore completely.

(TIP: In these cases, look very critically at the complexity and sophistication of the website. What are the affiliations and advertisers? Does it allow you to make orders using a well known payment method like a major credit card? Are there many levels and pages or is it very basic in nature? Although not a complete guarantee, a legitimate business is going to put together a quality presentation while the scammer website is only going to do enough to hook you with a pretty face and then conduct the rest of the scam by e-mail.)

(TIP: Should you have problems with such an agency feel free to report it to the abuse section of the web-host. Also feel free to ask directly how the agency gets its access to the Internet. In the event you are scammed, you will want to complain to the agency's ISP and the DNS registrant. Using Network-Tools may help to obtain valuable information.)

The bottom line: If the company is unwilling to put money into itself, why would YOU?

There are a number of notorious agencies.

(EVIL TIP: Your best choice is to stay away from them completely. But if you want to have some fun and occupy their resources feel free to email them anything and everything. Pass along those annoying e-mails that your friends send to you. No doubt they will soon block your email or send it directly to the trash but with many individuals doing this they might find it a bit overwhelming.)

Fortunately, scammer agencies and individuals operating through them are easier to detect than individuals operating on their own once you know what to look for.

The bottom line: They're blacklisted dummy!

Just because you don't see your correspondent listed here at Scam Alert or elsewhere doesn't mean you aren't being scammed. Depending on the Agency's policies and operation, the presence of "known" scammers at the Agency where your woman "resides" should be a big warning sign to you. Of course, some very large websites (see note on F2P Websites) contain a mix of legitimate persons and scammers because they allow anyone to post a profile so this Warning Sign must be taken with a grain of salt. Smaller agencies that claim to regulate their clientele should have no scammers at all.

(TIP: Browse your woman's website thoroughly and if you do encounter a known scammer, ask the manager of the Agency or the webmaster why a known scammer is a client or listed. The answer should be very enlightening.)

The bottom line: Birds of a feather flock together.

Hey some people are too busy scamming you to update their personals. So what if that "18 year old student" is now 25, married and living in Australia. Seriously though, keep in mind that some large agencies and especially the free listings may not update very often.

(TIP: If you reach the point where you are concentrating on each other, ask the woman to remove her profile from the Agency's profiles while you two figure out if you are going to get serious. If the Agency says it is not possible consider that an indication that the Agency is not very good and potentially a scam. But keep in mind that this advice is for ONLY those that are near engagement. It has been reported that some women have been "stood up" at the last minute. Given the expense and hassle of making a listing, it should not be surprising that some sincere ladies would be reluctant to pull their profile before you have slipped a ring on her finger.)

The bottom line: You should prefer to deal with agencies that provide excellent service to their clients. This includes updating their personal listings as circumstances change.

Read some of the letters that have been posted on the other anti-scam websites. (The Author generally does not post the actual letters or copies of emails for aesthetic and space reasons.) If you suddenly feel a bad case of Deja Vu the scam is on you!

The bottom line: Familiarize yourself with the standard letters (try not to be horrified if you have received one) and more importantly, get a feel for the "tone" and "style" of these letters.

How many real people when they digitize their own pictures or have this done give them such ridiculous filenames? Some scammer Agencies attempt to somewhat personalize their large list of photos (e.g. alena12.jpg, nata25.jpg, etc.) and others just assign them a number. If the woman is using a legitimate Agency AND the Agency or she informs you that these photos (ask them) were the product of a photo shoot then this may be acceptable. Otherwise, it is unlikely that an individual or a legitimate agency would have more than a dozen photos scanned and available for you and certainly it is unlikely to have numbered them in this way.

Real women using a legitimate Agency probably do not have a great number of photos scanned in the computer because to scan more than a few photos is an additional charge at most agencies and "Internet cafes". (Of course, if she is using a personal computer and scanning her own pictures then in this situation it is possible to have a number of photos. But even then she is more likely to name them and not assign numbers to them.)

The bottom line: If you get photos numbered like that add a "0" to the number and consider that you are that numbered person she has sent it to this week.

You say she looks like a covergirl? You might be surprised to find out that she really is! There are a number of well known scams where photomodels' photos have been used by scammers. Most real girls have normal, non-studio photos. Many scammers have just the opposite available to you, studio photos and no normal photos.

The bottom line: If she looks too good to be true she probably is.

Some scammers, especially those operating as individuals, are proactively contacting men who place a personal on various websites. In this situation one must really follow their instincts. Is she 17 years old and drop dead gorgeous while, frankly, you could be mistaken for Stephen King? Unless you ARE Stephen King and she is attracted to talented, wealthy, married men, you should ask a lot of questions about what exactly compelled her to write to you. Of course, if you are genuinely a good catch by many women's assessment and you have put yourself out there like this, then it would be natural to expect a number of unsolicited contacts. What ever the case, always exercise caution from the beginning when you do not initiate the contact.

(TIP: In your initial response, inquire politely, just how the woman paid to respond to your personal. Almost all free personals websites offer the ability to post a profile for free but require payment or subscription from both men and women in order to write to someone. Generally, this requires a credit card which typically only the top income earners in Russia and the Ukraine may have. Make sure her "explanation" conforms with her later statements regarding her "financial situation.")

9 out 10 times that someone writes to you out of the blue it will be a scam.

The bottom line: Real women of all sorts prefer to be chased.

We have a little fun with this in the "Top Ten" list but it it should be an obvious warning sign. Don't buy explanations that it was the translator's fault or the agency's fault. It WAS in fact the agency's fault. They merely sent the wrong scam letter to you.

The bottom line: This is rarely, if ever, acceptable.

Scammers are excellent at "cutting and pasting" and "form letters". They have many stock letters at the ready and just insert your name at the very beginning. Perhaps for an introductory letter or a first reply to your response to her personal ad, this might be considered acceptable. But if it continues after the first letter it is definitely a Warning Sign. Sometimes you may actually be able to notice that your name (and sometimes even her name if an agency is using the stock letter for several women) are in a different font type or size from the body of the letter.

(TIP: As in oral communications (and most western cultures) the level of social interaction between the two communicators should naturally parallel each other. In other words, if you use her name a lot in your letters to her, the natural expectation is for her to mirror your level of familiarity. If she doesn't or tries to mask this with substitutes like "honey", "sugar", "darling" and so forth in the body of the letter then be on guard.)

The bottom line: When you receive one of these e-mails, you should feel about as emotionally involved as when you receive spam.

Scammers of the first level are generally too busy scamming to bother to personalize their letters. Their modus operandi is to scam as many persons as possible as quickly as possible and if they can get even a small percentage of their victims to fall for their schemes it will be worthwhile. This particularly applies to scammer Agencies and to an individual offering a number of women's profiles via a "dummy" Agency but who is actually doing the work herself or himself.

But be careful! Scammers of the second level are more devious. These will personalize their letters and make it seem like you are writing to a real person. These scammers are very sophisticated and take their time to develop their scam. Only when you are well along the way in your relations will the other Warning Signs start to appear.

(TIP: If you receive an impersonal letter that discusses the "earth, wind and fire" but not a single word about anything you have written or asked, reply with a stock letter about the "sun, moon and ice" when she gets around to asking for money. It will be very funny.)

The bottom line: Real girls write letters about real life and not about "sugar and spice and everything nice."

Scammers don't really care who you are as a person. They are not interested in forming a real relationship with you so their ads are very broad in the requirements for a partner. Any age, any race, any physical type, indeed anybody is eligible to be scammed by them.

Even if her ad is general in its requirements, a real woman desiring a partner will always be interested in the details as the communication proceeds.

The bottom line: The devil is in the details.

One dead giveaway that an Agency is at work is when several profiles have a description or information that is word for word verbatim of another profile.

This is either the handywork of a scammer Agency or a lazy Agency and you don't want to have dealings with either.

The bottom line: Real individuals, even at agencies, have their own unique perspective and desires and this will be reflected in what they say in their profile.

Scammers are in the business of writing letters and fostering these false relationships. Real women have lives of their own and many other daily concerns. Remember how hard or busy she described her life to be? Then how come she is spending some time every day at the Agency or the "internet cafe"?

The bottom line: If sometimes it seems like she was just sitting at the computer waiting to write back to you it's because she was. After all, it's her (or his) job.

Think about your email communications with people you know. Now and then you might write or receive a long e-mail but often you write and receive only a few lines or perhaps a couple of paragraphs. Real communication with a real woman should look almost the same because whether she is a student or working or even out of work, she should have a real life and other concerns. Scammers are in the business of writing e-mail so their letters are almost always long.

Yes, if a real woman is using a translator or paying the Agency on a cost per page basis, there might be some tendency to make each e-mail count by including much information. But even in this situation, you should receive the occasional one-liner.

The bottom line: In this situation don't mistake quantity for quality.

This tactic is almost humorous. Let's be honest. What first attracted you to her profile or personal ad? It was that gorgeous photo of her! The scammer knows exactly why you wrote her in the first place and it isn't because she says she "enjoys cooking and reading Dostoevsky." Appealing to men's sexual desire is the oldest, easiest and most effective way to keep men's attention and your mind from putting together the subtle inconsistencies. The scammer using this tactic wants you to forget that knot in your gut that is telling you something is wrong and wants to focus your attention on the sensations a little lower instead.

As mentioned above, real women usually do not have many photos scanned online to send in the first place. But scammers have many and they will send you one sexy photo after another. Even the innocent looking photos are designed to win you over by showing you that she is not just a glamourous person.

The bottom line: Never watch the magician's hands.

There is a time for hyperbole but personal e-mail communications between two new correspondents who are trying to learn about each other is generally not one of them. When she thinks you are "absolutely wonderful" "so marvelous" and "completely mesmerizing" after three emails then it is time for you to check your wallet as you go to look at yourself in the mirror.

If she starts to make you feel like you can "walk on water" it is only because she wants you to step out of the boat.

The bottom line: Better check your wallet as you check the mirror.

No, we are not talking about having arcane knowledge, but rather the fact that she seems to like every single very tiny detail about you. Amazingly, there is absolutely nothing a scammer will find boring about what you say, what you do in your spare time and so forth. A real woman, even if she did not tell you bluntly, would not be so enthralled with every detail and this should be manifest in the "tone" of her letters.

The bottom line: This should be a Warning Sign even for real women!

This is a classic Warning Sign. Most normal women will not discuss these things unless you pointedly inquire. Scammers on the other hand will repeatedly and very discreetly drop these hints like foreshadowing in a horror story.

The bottom line: When you see these things you should be hearing the cello in "JAWS" (daaa-dum, daaa-dum, da dum, da-dum...)

While real women are no doubt eager and happy to meet you in person soon, with scammers it is almost expressed as a life and death necessity. A real relationship allows things to progress at a natural and mutually convenient pace. Very few real and mature women desire to rush into a relationship, especially when considering all of the important factors involved with getting together with someone from abroad. On the contrary, time is the scammer's enemy. The false sense of urgency created by the scammer is like the fox setting fire to the chickenhouse.

The fact is the longer you stretch your communications with your correspondent, the deeper will be your understanding and knowledge of exactly who that person is. So long as you are not also a "cash cow," for a scammer stretching your communication is very bad because you will detect them to be scammer or they will expend a lot of their time on you with little pay-off.

The bottom line: It is always a good idea to take your time in getting to know the person you are writing over the Internet before meeting them in person.

For the same reasons above and for whatever reasons for the money, she needs all of it and she needs it yesterday. Of course providing any money at all violates Scam Alert's for the internet correspondent. Your goal should be to explore, investigate and discover who she is as a person without disturbing her natural economic condition. True, sincere persons are ultimately looking for a better life and some of these persons are in desperate economic circumstances, but if she expects you to play the role of her "White Knight" then ask yourself if that is what you want. If you are going to send some money don't for any reason feel compelled to send it immediately. Remember in this situation time is a scammer's enemy. The bottom line: If a fool and his money are soon to be parted it doesn't have to be right away.

This Warning Sign seems counter-intuitive since it is typically assumed that scammers are "gold diggers". But in fact when you think about a real "gold digger" in order to actually get the "gold" a real relationship must be formed. Scammers are not interested in a real life dating or marriage relationship therefore paradoxically they are not ultimately interested in your financial status or whether you could support them in the long run. They just want some quick cash and then will blow you off or string you along until the well runs dry or you finally get wise.

On the contrary, real women, although perhaps reserved, will show an interest in your financial status, probably by asking lots of questions about what you do for a job, whether you have children, an ex-wife, where you live, what you drive, etc. This is because, even if they plan on working and being independent, they ultimately desire a partner that can help support the family.

The bottom line: Never become someone's "Sugar Daddy" unless you are actually getting some sugar.

It is amazing how many men ignore this simple Warning Sign. Common experience should indicate that no one can be so in love after a couple of emails. Maybe after meeting in person it is possible to be "in love" quickly. But until then, expect a genuine girl to be quite guarded in her expressions of intimate feelings. She was very brave just to put herself out there like this so she is very unlikely to risk her feelings or being hurt by saying "I love you" to a virtual stranger she has not yet met in person.

Even if you two have reached the point of such romantic expressions, do not confuse such expressions with where you stand in relation to each other.

The bottom line: Saying "I love you" means "I want to be with you". It does NOT mean "Can you give me 50 bucks?"

Real women write about the real events in their real lives. Some of these are positive and some are negative. Sometimes they discuss their own personalities and characteristics and sometimes they reveal the qualities that they want in a partner. Real women do not write on and on in flowery terms about such things as "honesty" and "trust" unless they want to set you up when you try to turn down their request for money by crying that you don't trust them! (Oh Gee, and just after she told you how important "trust" meant to her.) As noted above, the phrase "I love you" is rarely, if ever, said by a real woman as it means a journey towards commitment and therefore is serious. A scammer knows that path will never be walked so they say it very freely. A scammer also knows well that the mere allusion to "sex" combined with that revealing photo attached is likely to make most men feel like not responding to the request for money would be like walking away from a betting table. Indeed, many men although knowing the odds are against them and even sensing that they are about to lose their money, still risk it, telling themselves "Well, I could get lucky".

The bottom line: Remember that "talk" is supposed to be cheap.

Granted, Russia and Ukraine and these other lands are full of drop dead beautiful women who could easily be a covergirl. (Of course, keep in mind that many agencies select only the best looking women and reject many of the ordinary looking people.) While it is entirely possible that this gorgeous creature is genuinely interested in what you have to offer at least try to keep some rational perspective. If possible, step outside of the situation and examine whether anyone else would consider this a real pairing. Some age difference is expected and acceptable and even biologically normal--some might even say mandated. Anna-Nicole-Smith-age-discrepancy should only be reserved for billionaires however. Mature women typically value security, emotional availability, stability, and financial resources over looks and physical characteristics as a matter of course so it is not totally improbable that if you have these things she will overlook your unibrow and the potbelly or a reasonable age difference. On the other hand, if the whole things seems like a dream--or maybe a scene out of American Beauty--you better make sure you aren't sleepwalking right into a brickwall.

The bottom line: Pray that she is real and count your blessings.

So you finally fly there and she meets you at the airport. You go out to all of the best restaurants of course. You even buy her things to show your affection. (By the way Gentlemen, it is not a "custom" to buy her an expensive "engagement ring" or present!!! Really she should be happy enough just to see you.) At this point, assuming that she is a scammer and you just haven't realized it yet, there are a few different possibilities. You might end up spending some rather pleasurable time with her (at least until your money runs out) and then she will disappear. Or she may deftly ignore even your mildest advances and try and pump you for money during your various "dates." Or finally, her "cousin Gregor" may suddenly appear and ask you for a little pre-familial loan. Not only should you politely decline but at your earliest convenience you should ditch the both of them and consider changing hotels.

Remember should you be lucky enough to visit a genuine lady from abroad that you have been writing to, she is going to want to show you her city, introduce you to her family and friends and probably not want to sleep with you within the first three hours of your arrival.

The final bottom line: Fortune favors the prepared mind.