The Story:
Timo, a 44-year-old man from Helsinki, met “Elena” on a language exchange app. She said she was from Ukraine and wanted to improve her English. Their chats were sweet and simple. After two weeks, she told Timo she wanted to visit him — she even sent a photo of her train ticket.
But the day before she was supposed to arrive, she messaged in panic:
“Customs won’t let me through unless I pay €190 for health insurance. Can you please help?”
Timo was skeptical. He asked for a live video call — she refused. He offered to pay directly to the insurance company — she insisted it had to be a “personal payment.”
That’s when he stopped replying. A few days later, her profile disappeared.
Lesson:
If someone says they’re traveling to meet you but keeps hitting “sudden” problems that require money — it’s almost always a scam.