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RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN PASSPORTS -  EXPLAINED

CUSTOM REQUIREMENTS FOR RUSSIAN CITIZENS TRAVELING OVERSEAS


I Have Been Scammed... What Do I Do Now?

 

FILE A COMPLAINT WITH RUSSIAN POLICE!!!

 

(please follow these instructions on only if you sent money to the scammers. 

If you have not sent money to the scammers, go to this page)

 

FAQs:

 

THE LATEST NEWS ON ARRESTS AND TRIALS:

 

10 SCAMMERS FROM MARI EL REPUBLIC ARE FOUND GUILTY

July 2010

The largest-ever group of Russian dating scammers is on trial in Yoshkar-Ola

 

 SERGEY GORBUNOV, LEADER OF ONE OF LARGEST GROUPS OF RUSSIAN DATING SCAMMERS, ARRESTED IN YOSHKAR-OLA 

August 2008

Sergey Gorbunov, 43, resident of Yoshkar-Ola (Mari El Republic), is charged with fraud. The prosecutors allege that Mr. Gorbunov was the head of a group of one of the largest groups of scammers in Yoshkar-Ola.

  

 

2 YOSHKAR-OLA SCAMMERS CONVICTED

Oleg Elsukov (1983) and Sergey Chetverikov (1985), from Yoshkar-Ola, Mari El Republic, were found guilty of defrauding a German citizen, Frederick D., of 28,400 euros in 2005-2006. The scammers used stolen pictures of Russian ballerina Anastasia Volchkova. The case was heard by Yoshkar-Olinskiy Municipal Court in the spring of 2007.

READ MORE

   

 

ONE OF THE LONGEST OPERATING SCAMMERS, ALENA FEDOROVSKAYA, AND HER CO-CONSPIRATOR, VLADIMIR OSIPOV, HAVE BEEN FINALLY CAUGHT. 

Alena Fedorovskaya and Vladimir Osipov, the creators of several fake marriage and travel agencies, have been sentenced to 5 years, and 5 years and 6 months, respectively, on October 30th, 2006, by Verkh-Istetskiy Court of Ekaterinburg, Russia.

http://www.ural.kp.ru/2006/10/31/doc145182/

(photo courtesy of http://www.ural.kp.ru/2006/10/31/doc145182/)

 

 

What NOT to do:

  • do not delete or throw away the scammers' letters, pictures and records of your money transfers
  • do not provide the scammers with links to black lists where their pictures may already be posted
  • do not send the scammers any more money no matter what they says.

What to do:

1. Contact WU (or MoneyGram) to find out the location (city) where the money was received

  • Locate your Western Union or MoneyGram receipts
  • Contact Western Union  or MoneyGram and request information about the pick up date and location of the money transfer(s).
  • ADDITIONALLY: Also ask the representative what kind of steps you can take to place a warning on the receiver’s name, so the next time someone tries to send money to this person they would be warned by a WU / MoneyGram agent that such a warning has been placed on the lady’s name.

2. Fill out the form below

3. Receive the free information package with all the instructions, and an example of a criminal complaint (if you do not receive a response within 5 days, please contact elena@russian-detective.com)

4. Create a complaint and collect the supporting evidence (letters, photos, money transfer receipts, etc) according to the instructions provided

4. Translate and notarize the complaint

5. Mail your complaint and all the supporting documents to the scammer's local office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (addresses for the Offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Russia and Ukraine will be provided to you in the free information package you will receive by email). 

 

 

Can I get money back from the scammer?

It is pretty rare for the victim to be able to recover the money, but occasionally it happens. 

The only way to do it is to file a criminal complaint with the proper authorities and hope that your case will be the lucky one that the scammers won't be able to fight off. 

 

 

 

 

SUBMIT A REQUEST FOR PROSECUTION ASSISTANCE

So, how do you contact Russian police? What kind of documents police may need from you? Where should you send all the information? How can you assist police in locating the scammers? Can you return the lost money?

Find out by requesting our Prosecution Information Package. 

It will include:

  • Information about the type of information you will need to provide to Russian authorities

  • Contact information for Russian / Ukrainian law enforcement

  • Tips on how to put together your complaint

  • An example of a properly-written complaint

  • Realistic information about the venues available to you to retrieve the money lost due to the scam

  • Information about the type of assistance with the prosecution process that you can obtain

Please request the information from Western Union before completing the form. It will allow me to assist you faster.

Information about yourself:

Your name:
Your email address:
Alternative email (in case the first one stops working, etc): 
Your phone number (optional):
Your country: 

Information about the scammer(s):

Please fill out as much as you can

Scammer(s) name(s):

(Please use only the names that the scammer provided you with. Do not use aliases found on the Internet)  

Scammer(s)' residential address(es): country, city, street, etc 
Scammer(s) phone number(s), if known
Scammer(s)' email address(es)
Did the scammer provide you with any type of documents? (visa, passport)?

Information about the scam:

Please fill out as much as you can

Total amount you sent (don't forget to specify currency):
Who was the money sent to? List all names.
What was the money supposed to be used for?
Money transfer method used to send the funds (Western Union, MoneyGram, bank transfer, other..?) 
Have you contacted Western Union or MoneyGram and checked the location where the money was picked up? What did they tell you?

THIS INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL. WITHOUT THIS INFORMATION IT WILL BE HARD TO BE ABLE TO FILE FOR PROSECUTION. 

IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED THIS STEP, PLEASE RETURN TO THE CONTACTING WESTERN UNION / MONEY GRAM SECTION AND COMPLETE THE RECOMMENDED STEPS

 

List dates, amounts, and transfer confirmation numbers or bank account numbers
Do you have receipts for all transfers?
Have you filed complaints with any governmental or law enforcement agencies? List all.
Can you look up the IP addresses from one of scammer's letter? If yes, please copy and paste the IP info here: If you do not know what an IP address is, just skip this question

   
Have you found any reports of this scammer on the Internet? 
Add any other information you would like to add here:
Which of our services do you want to request?

Send samples of the scammer's letters (optional):

Copy and paste the scammer's first letter here:

To Copy: Open the scammer's letter, click somewhere in the middle of the letter, press CTRL+A (at the same time). Everything in the letter should highlight. 

While it is highlighted, press CTRL+C (at the same time). 

To Paste: Open this page, click in the white space of the data field on the right, and press CTRL+V (at the same time)

Copy and paste the scammer's first money request letter, where the scammer tells you what the money are going to be used for, and how much (s)he needs:

 

Please double-check all the information you are submitting, because once you click SUBMIT, this information will be sent to our office, you won't be able to make any corrections.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Why shouldn’t I tell her I found out she is a scammer?

Scammers are fast learners. Once they learn how you discovered their plan, they will change their MO to make sure they are not too “obvious”. The more you tell them, the more they learn, and the better they become at what they do.

 

Why shouldn’t I send her the links to other sites where her pictures are already posted?

Because most likely all that this would achieve is the scammer changing her pictures. Once she changes her pictures, it will become more difficult for potential victims to identify her. In addition the scammer may become a regular visitor of black lists where he/she would steal more photos, more prewritten letters and come up with new ideas on how to make her job even more fun. So, please do not give the scammer the tools to become better a scammer.

 

How can I find other victims of this scammer?

Type her name into a Google search engine. Then do the same with her address. If there are some reports about this lady on other black lists, contact the owners of the black lists for contact information.

 

Why do I need to call Western Union to find out where the money was picked up? I already know where money was sent!

These days the majority of scammers do not want to give you any clues about their actual location within the country (because they are afraid that you could find them later). Therefore they try to convince you that they are from somewhere else. They will tell you that they are from Kazan, Volgograd, Tyumen or Arkhangels. All the while the majority of scammers that we see actually reside in Yoshkar-Ola.

Unfortunately, Western Union and MoneyGram make it easy for the scammers to pick up money from any WU location in the country. So, scammers use this fact to their advantage, making people spend money on background checks in all the wrong cities.

The only way to find the scammer’s true location is to check where she/he picked up the money transfer. Usually a scammer will pick up the transfer in the city she really lives in.

The majority of scammers pick up money in Yoshkar-Ola (according to Western Union).

 

If I try to prosecute the scammer, will she be punished?

Very possibly. But you will need to preserve the evidence and file the complaint for them to take action. So please follow all the advice on this page as closely as possible. 

 

 

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