Many things are said regarding women who date foreigners online. Trying online dating or wanting to meet people from other places is in no way a sign of criminality, but unfortunately the increasing cases of online romance scams in Russia and Ukraine are giving a bad name to the practices.

Marrying someone from a foreign country is not unusual anymore, and it has actually turned into a popular thing to do amongst women in Eastern Europe. Several reasons support this. In the first place, women outnumber men in Russia and Ukraine. The deficit of men is a fact that is actually affecting local women who want to marry and have children. Poverty and political crisis are also making more women want to leave their countries, in search of a better life beyond their boundaries.

The fact that Russian and Ukrainian women are looking for love overseas has also triggered many cases of online fraud, conducted mainly by mafia networks who have found a great profit potential in the situation. For online crooks, impersonating the perfect lady is big business.

The City of London Police reports that online dating is costing victims an average of £24.5million per year. Last year 2,800 people reported being victims of fraud in the U.K. alone, and the figure is only a fraction compared to the real amount of cases that were not reported, due to victims being too ashamed of the situation. And, these figures represent the losses of only one country.

Although not all of the losses come from Russian and Ukrainian scammers, investigators in Moscow and Kiev do agree that the cases of this kind of online fraud is an increasing problem and the political crisis between the two countries is making it even worse. “Not only do criminals have the experience to lure foreign men and women into sending money, but they also have a social, economic and political background that helps them get away with it”, says Russia PI´s Peter Kossakovsky, Director of Background Checks, who has been working with fraud cases for over a decade.

The current situation makes scammers’ stories more believable and victims feel more reluctant to help in some way. The victim´s easiest way to help is well-known by scammers and they take advantage of it: money. Financial aid is supposed to be used for plane tickets to get away, to quit working as a model of adult chat, or for a visa.  It could all be true, but the odds are against you.

As the economy and employment situation remains grim in Europe, Internet users are at an increased risk from romance scams and dating fraud.  Criminals based in Russia and Ukraine are more active than ever.  Online scammers target Internet users on match-making sites, online dating sites, and social networks.  Private investigators are receiving more complaints than ever before and are finding new ways to fight online dating fraud.  They deliver clear evidence to keep you safe.

Law enforcement agencies often have jurisdictional problems, and are overwhelmed with requests, so the bottom line is that many scam victims have limited options.  Once the damage is done, it is often too late. Russian investigators emphasize the importance of dating background checks early in the relationship.  Be patient, take precautions, get evidence, and then decide.

Online relationships work pretty much like real live relationships. Walking into a bar and having a 40 year younger than you and beautiful woman come and say hello is kind of suspicious. The same happens when you are dating online. Russian and Ukrainian women are in fact open to relationships with foreign men, but pay attention to large age differences, or things too good to be true.

C. Wright © 2014 Russia PI™

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