A new type of fraud has appeared in Ukraine aimed at relatives of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were captured by the Russian occupiers. Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, warned citizens through his Facebook page about this dangerous method of extorting money from Ukrainian military families.
According to him, fraudsters, having learned that Ukraine has carried out a new exchange of prisoners with the aggressor country, create accounts in social networks. They position themselves as allegedly released prisoners of war or former prisoners of war who are already serving, and promise to provide information about soldiers and officers whom they "saw in captivity" or "have information about them." At the same time, criminals ask for money for themselves or "persons who are engaged in this".
Lubinets said that fraudsters in the Telegram messenger create special channels to extort money and personal data from family members of Ukrainian prisoners of war. People who are concerned about the fate of their loved ones do not notice the deception and are ready to pay fraudsters money.
The ombudsman urged Ukrainians to trust only official information about servicemen captured by the occupiers. It is not possible to send money, because a promise to allegedly provide information or help with a release is a deception.
Regarding the exchange of prisoners of war, you should communicate only with the authorized bodies of the state authorities. You can get reliable information about searching for your missing relatives at the Office for Persons Who Have Disappeared Under Special Circumstances (hotline phone number 1698).
During wartime, scammers call and text citizens offering their services to supposedly free prisoners of war. Criminals call themselves volunteers, journalists or representatives of the aggressor country. For their services, they ask to transfer money to their card. They also extort personal data of a missing serviceman from gullible citizens.
For example, in December 2024, law enforcement officers detained a resident of the Kyiv region, who extorted almost UAH 1 million from the wife of a captured defender of "Azovstal". The fraudster convinced the victim that she allegedly had her own connections with the administration of the Russian prison where the Ukrainian serviceman was being held. For a monetary reward, she promised to "help speed up" the process of returning a captured serviceman home. The swindler intimidated the victim by saying that if she did not hand over the money, there would be very bad consequences for the captive.
Based on this fact, law enforcement officers opened criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Fraud). The perpetrator faces from 3 to 8 years of imprisonment.
