Thousands of people fall victim to Russian dating scams every year. The global impact of this kind of fraud is amazingly large, both in terms of victims and in terms of financial losses. And even though the problem of love fraud is widely published in the media, and authorities make an effort by alerting people, the number of victims continues to grow.  International borders and the anonymity of the Internet makes it hard for law enforcement to identify and arrest criminals.  As a result, dating scammers in Russia and the Ukraine are very successful in their crimes.

Part of the responsibility of this growing trend is determined by the also growing amount of websites and services that the Internet offers to those looking for a background check. With such a big demand for investigation services in Russia, many fraudsters and unprofessional companies have seen a great opportunity to make money to the expense of the people in need.   Many websites claim to offer “background checks” but do not even have investigators on the ground in Russia!  In fact, many sites offering international background check investigations do not even have a private investigator working for them!  They are generic database searches that are not worth a dime, yet they continue to lure the public into trying their services.  Real background checks cost money.

Most of the people that are trying to investigate if their date is honest and real are trying to do it because there has been some kind of red flag or because they have seen or read somewhere in the media about the fraud cases. Many of these people are desperately looking for answers, and the Internet has a vast number of suppliers for these cases. But be careful!

Many of the providers out there will not be helpful at all, and may actually be increasing your chances of being deceived. The following are some of the recommendations from the investigators of the dating background check team at Russia PI.  Make sure you research your options.

What is and what is not a true background check?

A real investigation is not a database search. Many people confuse a background check with a simple search in a database, where you submit a name and any other piece of personal information and the system retrieves a result. Or even worse, some people think that not finding the subject´s name in any blacklist is a guarantee of honesty! But nothing could be further from the truth. Verifying someone´s identity and background is not a matter of looking into a system or checking a list. It takes a real professional to go directly to the sources of information and verify all the facts with the corresponding authorities (civil registry, embassies, migration offices, ministry of internal and foreign affairs, police, etc). It requires to have a private investigator on the ground in Russia who can check birth records, criminal history and other equally important information as employment or education claims, someone who knows the language and the laws and will be able to get real evidence.

Be realistic and expect to pay a fair price if you want real evidence.

Many of the providers that you will find online offer immediate results that may be inexpensive, but the information they provide is of little or no value.  In Russia PI´s experience, many of the victims of romance scams had already wasted money paying for a so-called background check that was useless, because it was not a real investigation but a database search. These kind of listings are outdated, inaccurate and in many cases we do not even know where the information comes from.

Most of the information and data in Russia must be obtained directly from the source, and is not available in any magical database.  Even if you do speak Russian, you won’t find many answers online or by making phone calls.  You’ll need a professional investigator with access.

What should a real dating background check include?

A real background check investigation in Russia should contain precise information about what was exactly verified and where the evidence was obtained.  The basic information is pertaining to identity, and the rest will mainly be up to what clients can provide (information like passport copies, employment or education claims, address, documents, etc). The important thing is to focus on information that can be supported by reliable authorities or the direct sources (employers, schools, etc). And of course, the investigation report should also explain where the information was checked.

A typical background check investigation from Russia PI™ includes birth records, marriage and criminal records, passport or ID verification, analyzing documents, public and media records, education and employment verification, travel records, and screening the case for fraud.  And, of course each case is worked by a trained investigator on the ground in St. Petersburg or Moscow.

True dating background checks in Russia take time and effort! Russia has strict laws protecting the distribution of information about Russian citizens, so it is important to have a professional working on the matter.  When shopping for a reputable investigator, remember to ask a lot of questions.  Check for trust seals like the Better Business Bureau, Truste and McAfee.  Try to restrain from services that offer immediate results and no information at all from the sources being used.

C. Wright
© 2015 Russia PI™

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