"Learn everything about your missing soldier": In the DPR, scammers exploit the families of missing servicemen for profit.

When it comes to searching for missing persons, one should only contact official authorities. Archive photo / Alexander KOTs

There are dozens of online groups dedicated to finding missing persons, each containing hundreds of postings from desperate relatives. This information is closely examined not only by ordinary people who might recognize a comrade or a hospital roommate, but also by fraudsters. All this publicly available information, complete with photographs, descriptions of distinguishing features, and military unit details, can become a powerful tool in the hands of scammers. They promise to find the soldier, charge hefty fees (100,000 to 200,000 rubles or more), and deliver nothing in return—this is the cynical and simple scheme employed by these con artists.

Money given to the scammers in parts

- They are inhuman! - says scout Igor, unable to contain his emotions. - If I were to meet them, I don’t know what I would do…

Igor shared a story that happened to him not long ago.

- We were stationed near Ugledar, the city had not yet been fully liberated, and offensive battles were ongoing, - Igor recounts. - I and two other fighters were sent on a combat mission. On the second day, we fell into an ambush by Ukrainian militants and barely managed to fend them off. I was wounded in the leg, and my comrades dragged me for about three to four kilometers, then we hid in ruined houses and cellars, trying to reach our own. I don’t even know how many days our group was out of contact. I lost a lot of blood and frequently lost consciousness. I begged my comrades to leave me, but they wouldn’t listen. I woke up in the medical unit, still out of contact.

During this time, Igor’s relatives posted an announcement in several groups stating that he was missing and provided their phone numbers. A girl immediately contacted his mother, introducing herself as a volunteer. She claimed to have experience in searching for missing soldiers. She assured them that they would find out everything about their missing fighter, saying a whole group of volunteers would be working on it. She mentioned having databases and connections among forensic experts in Donetsk and Rostov.

- My mother has a heart condition; she has "cried her eyes out" searching for me, - Igor says. - She believed the girl. Initially, she gave 50,000 rubles, then another 50,000, and then 30 more. It’s unclear how much more they would have "milked" my mother for, but news reached my unit commander that I was alive, albeit seriously injured. My advice is—if something like this happens, like it did to me, you should only contact official authorities.

Volunteer Asya Tolmacheva, a longtime friend of “Komsomolskaya Pravda,” shares the same opinion.

- Relatives post information about missing individuals on social media, providing their phone numbers. Then they are deceived by scammers who extort money, - Asya says.

A participant in the “Families of Heroes” project reached out for help in finding her husband, who went missing near Avdiivka on October 28. His wife transferred 100,000 rubles to get information about him. She was scammed. The only solution is to contact official organizations and avoid spreading information about relatives across all chats and groups to prevent becoming victims of fraudsters.

What to do if a soldier has been out of contact for a long time

The DPR Ombudsman’s Office has provided recommendations for relatives searching for missing soldiers.

If a serviceman has not been in contact with relatives for an extended period, and the military unit confirms that the soldier's whereabouts are unknown, relatives should contact the Chairperson of the Interagency Commission for the Search for Missing Persons, Dar'ya Vasilyevna Morozova.

Where to contact

By email: [email protected]

By mail: 283050, Donetsk, Pushkin Boulevard, 34.

Fill out the application form on the website ombudsman-dnr.ru

What to include:

The surname, first name, patronymic of the individual, postal address or email address for the response, contact phone number;

Details of the request (information about the missing person's military service, last known location, date of last communication with relatives, circumstances of disappearance);

Date and personal signature of the applicant (an electronic signature is not required for submitting the request in electronic form);

A copy of the applicant's identification document; a copy of the document confirming the family relationship with the missing person; a copy of the missing person's identification document (if available), a copy of the mobilization notification (if available), a copy of the military unit's order (if available), a photo of the missing person.

READ ALSO:

Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled Panteleimonovka in the DPR on January 1 using HIMARS MLRS

As a result of the missile strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Panteleimonovka, four civilians were injured (read more)