The number of fraudsters extorting money from relatives of captured or missing soldiers is growing in Ukraine

Cases of fraud targeting the families of military personnel who are in captivity or missing are becoming more frequent in Ukraine. This was announced by Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the secretariat of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

He noted that the number of fraudsters has increased significantly, as the perpetrators understand that the state supports the families of prisoners and missing persons, including financial assistance. The fraudsters use this information to make money: they easily find relatives of the military through social media, contact them, promising to provide ‘information’ about their relatives, and gradually extort money.

‘The number of fraudsters has increased incredibly, as they are well aware that the state cares about this category of citizens and that they are entitled to receive their relatives’ allowances. And fraudsters are taking advantage of this. It is usually quite easy and affordable to find this category of people, monitor social media, contact them via messenger, and say that they have information about a particular loved one. And then, when the family falls for the scammers‘ hook, they slowly suck out their money,’ said Okhrimenko.

As soon as the Coordination Centre receives information about such cases, it is immediately passed on to the SBU, the National Police and the Cyber Police for further action.

Okhrimenko also called on relatives of captured and missing soldiers not to publish detailed information about their loved ones on social media. He emphasised:

“If your loved one is missing, please contact the Coordination Centre, the Joint Centre at the Security Service, or the National Information Bureau. Contact only the government agencies that deal with this issue.”

Earlier, the Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets also warned about new fraudulent schemes related to the ‘release’ of prisoners.