⚠️ Ukrainians should remain vigilant — russian special services are creating fake websites and Telegram channels to extort money and personal data from the relatives of missing persons. The scheme operates through trust manipulation, promises of help, and psychological pressure, while in reality exploiting people’s pain for propaganda and blackmail.
Source: OBOZREVATEL
Journalists from “Suspilne” have investigated how the scheme works. Ukrainians searching for missing relatives — both military and civilians — often find themselves in complete uncertainty. In desperation, people turn to any resource in hopes of obtaining even a shred of information.
Under the guise of assistance, russia creates channels disguised as volunteer or human rights organizations. The names sound plausible: “Mother’s Shield”, “Ukraine Missing”, “Humanitarian Search Mission”. These channels claim to help in finding prisoners of war or missing persons. People are invited to fill out a form or write in a chat. At first, this is free and seemingly without obligation — allegedly just to “submit data” for verification.
But then the scheme escalates. Psychological pressure begins, along with promises of contact with the captive, phone calls, or videos. A condition is always added — to transfer a certain amount of money; sometimes not money, but scanned documents, military records, or photos are demanded. All of this is intelligence gathering used by russians to fabricate accusations or for blackmail.
Another part of the scheme is substitution. For example, a Telegram channel with a Ukrainian name is created, publishing photos of military documents, charred belongings, bodies, or just lists of names. People recognize surnames or units in the comments and begin contacting the administrators. The admins respond and continue the conversation, then demand data or money. If the relative does not comply — they are blocked or threatened with “losing the chance” to learn anything about the missing person.
Especially cynical is the use of the image of “mothers” or “wives” who allegedly are also searching for their loved ones. They act as chat moderators, build trust, ask questions, and collect information. Some of these are fake accounts created specifically to extract emotions and details.
These chats and channels often broadcast videos with “prisoners of war” reading pre-written texts. The goal is to promote russian narratives, create the impression that Ukraine is not searching for its own, and that only “the right people” — i.e., fake organizations — can “save” them. Afterward, relatives begin to doubt official sources, become disillusioned, and more vulnerable to manipulation.
In some cases, after contact with the fake aid, relatives find that the personal data of their loved ones — or even of themselves — appears on other russian platforms. This means these structures are interconnected into a single network that collects information, conducts blackmail, spreads fakes, and serves propaganda.
Meanwhile, real international organizations such as the International Red Cross currently have no access to Ukrainian prisoners of war on russian territory. Official search mechanisms operate slowly but transparently: the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Search Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Human Rights Ombudsman.
