Love does hurt. Especially for those who have been victim of a Russian dating scam, this kind of love hurts your feelings, your ego and your savings. When it comes to elderly people, this hurting transcends to family because nobody wants to see Grandpa or Grandma, or Mom or Dad in trouble.

Russian private investigators in Moscow have reported an increase in love scams where the victims are increasingly senior men. They have been convinced by a Russian sweetheart that they are truly in love. Most of the times, the perpetrator requests money because she is living some kind of hardship, or because the crisis in Russia, or any other situation that makes it hard for them to work and have enough money to live. Victims then agree to send some financial support.

But, it’s not always so simple.  Many senior citizens are victims of Russian scammers and hackers who never use online dating or social networking sites.  Fraudsters in Russia also target seniors with phishing emails, spam, identity theft, hacking and even phone calls to get the data they want.

Other victims pay for their online Russian dates to come to the United States, but they never arrive. Some even travel to Russia just to find out their love didn´t even exist after all.

Why senior citizens are a new target

Seniors were born in another era, when people didn´t have to spend their whole life protecting themselves from others. Younger people are born with the feeling that they need to be careful about everything because nowadays we are constantly harassed by advertising, people wanting you to buy things, media, data brokers, higher rates of crime, the Internet and even the government spying on you. Senior citizens are not so used to this, so they tend to be less skeptical.

Seniors have retirement savings and inheritances. The black market and even legal market is full of databases of American, British, Australian and Canadian citizens, who are 50 or more, because chances are they will have money. There are people who specialize in collecting data like the names of the living spouses of a recently deceased person. A simple obituary can give enough information for scammers to build a database of potential victims. Databases are then used to contact the soon to be victims through social media sites like Facebook or email. Other victims make it simpler for scammers to find out how desirable –how much of a prey- they are. When not informed about how to lower the risks, people make simple mistakes like giving out too much information about themselves. Simple data in a dating site profile can reveal just how interesting you are as a fraud target.

They are usually not as computer savvy as youngsters. Russian scammers are globally known for being expert hackers. But with seniors complicated hacking techniques might not be necessary. A simple pop up saying “Update your antivirus now” can trick anyone, and this is enough to plant a program that can steal all of their computer information, including bank accounts information and other personal information used for ID theft.  Even young computer experts can be tricked.

Scammers target the vulnerable on the Internet

Scammers target the vulnerable. Many senior citizens are lonely and take to the Internet as a way to try something new and meet new people.  As mentioned before they have widowed, which leaves them not only with money but without a partner to share their lives with. Children have grown up and have their own lives, many times far away from home. And although for many elder people looking for a second love of their lives is not really a goal, they do want to share a life with someone else.

If your love story starts with an unexpected email from a lady in Russia, or a friend request on Facebook out of the blue, then be skeptical. If sending money is part of the picture, then you will need a dating background check in Russia for sure. If you are planning to visit Russia, try to stop your plans until you have verified that this person is who she claims to be. Your life could be at risk.  If your parent or grandparent is the person in this situation, then share this information with him. It will be more than helpful and he will be grateful he was able to find out the truth before making a big mistake.

Be safe and share less on the Internet.  When meeting someone new, online or offline, speak to a reputable private investigator on how to be safe, and verify your new friend.

C. Wright
© 2014 Russia PI™

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