Category: Blog

Our company helps people to avoid love frauds (romance scams) on Ukrainian dating sites for 10 years. Every year, fraudsters come up with new ways to cheat people. Instead, many men continue to believe in the fairy tale with Ukrainian woman and lose their time and money. In this article, we share our experience. Here’s the most popular ways (schemes) of cheating on Ukrainian dating sites that we met in the first months of 2020.

Cost of making a Ukrainian passport

This scheme remains in the top for many years. It accounts for about half of all fraud we dealt with in 2020.

 At some point, a girl from a Ukrainian dating site tells you that she needs to produce a Ukrainian passport. Men are tempted by the prospect of a personal date and spend time together. The girl greatly overestimates the cost of producing a Ukrainian biometric passport for travel abroad.

Our clients ask us every day: what is the cost of Ukrainian passport? How much to pay to produce it? In fact, the cost is approximately $US 40, provided that the person receives a brand new passport in seven working days. The price may be even less than 40 bucks if you’re not in rush and ready to wait 30 working days.

Scammers tell amount between 250 and 500 USD for the Ukrainian passport, citing the need for intermediary firms. These ladies have a wonderful appetite.

In reality, the process of producing and issuing biometric passports in Ukraine is no longer as corrupt as before (2 years ago). The rules of the game are clear and uniform for everyone. The only issuer of passports was and is the state of Ukraine. No intermediaries (firms) participate in this process. The list of documents is minimal (absolutely nothing special). It is important to come and write an application to the nearest office of the Migration Service of Ukraine. Moreover, such offices are located in the smallest cities/towns of Ukraine. No need to go to a big city (Kharkiv or Kiev), spend money and time on it.

For people who are in the war zone of Donetsk and Lugansk, there are special conditions for obtaining a foreign biometric passport, which, however, are not very different from the conditions of all other citizens of Ukraine. The cost of making is one for all. This value is transparent and public.

Fake Ukrainian passports

Fraudsters continue to forge Ukrainian passports. The girls send their boyfriends copies of their passports to confirm they’re legitimate. In addition to primitive photoshop, we also encountered high quality fakes. Such passports could only be verified using a database. If you are not sure whether your girlfriend’s passport from the dating site is genuine or fake, order a Ukrainian passport check service. Some of our cases can be seen in the black list of Ukrainian scammers.

Asking for money on a new phone or computer

A very popular fraud scheme. The girls make sure that their cell phone is so old that it doesn’t even have a camera. If you want to see her and communicate without limits in WhatsApp, there’s only one thing missing – new smartphone with a camera.  

In fact, it is pure water deception. With a probability of near 100%, this girl has a modern smartphone with a camera to take pictures of herself beloved. She doesn’t need a new phone. She needs your money, which she supposedly uses on her new phone.

It is true that in Ukraine most people do not live a prosperous life. But finding a girl without a smartphone is as easy as finding a virgin girl.

If you make a gift through an agency, you will be forced to overpay for the bloody phone.

Using someone else’s photos and fictional profiles

Girls from Ukraine on dating sites are different. Most of them are cute. And some look really like models or even beauty queens.

Be careful! Our experience of searching people by picture on the Internet shows that cases of using other people’s photos are very common. Scammers use photos of models, celebrities and even porn actresses (!).

We know of cases where girls were paid a percentage for being able to communicate on their behalf using their personal information (photos, name, etc.).

There is a scheme when a girl is offered a free photo shoot service in Ukraine. She does get the photos for free, but later those photos go to dating sites, they use it to create a fake profile on her behalf and the scammers deceive people. Naturally, such unique photos are not indexed on the Internet.

A few tips for men to stay away from fraud on Ukrainian dating sites

1. Use your brain as much as possible. We understand that you are in love and hormones are hitting your head. But your cold mind is able to save your time, nerves and money
2. Don’t send them money. No way! If you have real relationships, then you should not be a sponsor, and your girlfriend shouldn’t be a consumer only. This is exactly the case when you need to be selfish and pragmatic. You are a man, not an ATM. They love you for who you are, not for how much money you have. If all she needs from you is money, you don’t need that girl
3. Stay focused and be realist. If you see a young, pretty, successful girl who is supposedly looking for her love, ask yourself: Why does she need you? Why does she have to move to other country, change her life if she’s so sexy and successful? In most cases, this is a scam and girls of this type have long found boyfriends and do not use the services of dating sites. It’s just a trap
4. Beware of Ukrainian girls from Donetsk and Luhansk regions (war zone). In our experience, these are scammer champions. Places like Krasnodon, Alchevsk, Makeevka, Yenakiyevo should be red flags for you (“Run, Forrest, Run!”). Most of them complain about hard life, war, poor health, etc. Chances are, they will try to use you as a sponsor. You will not receive anything in return.

The Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine announced that it is not yet timely to introduce the sale of SIM cards passports linked to a passport.

“This is additional regulation. If we make the regulation that you buy a SIM card only with Ukrainian passport, it is an additional burden for both citizens and business,” he said.

The Minister also stressed that now the focus of the Ukrainian authorities should be to deregulate everything as much as possible.

We now have so many deregulation reforms now. This is a bad time to divert our attention. This will only cause additional public concern

Currently in Ukraine, a subscriber with a prepaid (non-contracted) mobile connection may voluntarily provide his or her data. Passport link is required to transfer your number from one operator to another.

SIM cards to scam people in Ukraine

What does this mean in practice in fraud? You don’t need a passport to register a new SIM card in Ukraine. Anyone in Ukraine can buy an unlimited number of simcards and use them for their own purposes. Passport is not required. Change numbers. Have an unlimited number of mobile phones at the same time. This is not illegal. For example, one fraudster can communicate with multiple foreigners at the same time, without flashing his number. After all, SIM cards in Ukraine are very cheap and if you used it in some scam and don’t need it anymore you simply throw it in the trash. In addition, it is very difficult to track a scammer by phone number as they often change phone numbers.

In most cases, if you know the Ukrainian phone number of the fraudster, it is almost impossible to track it. Because SIM cards used for illegal activities are simply thrown away.

We offer a service of verification of Ukrainian woman on dating sites, where you can also check a person from Ukraine by phone number.

Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) is a free service embedding in the Ukrainian ID card chip. This is a new option for Ukrainian ID cards presented by the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

The new service is absolutely free of charge and offers a number of benefits in electronic service to both government and business.

The ID card is issued on the basis of the Unified State Register and has reliable protection, contains biometric data and data of exchange between all registers.

Electronic signature for Ukrainian ID cards is available to Ukrainian citizens who have reached the age of 18 years. Key certificates will be valid for 2 years.

Currently, there are two ways to get the electronic signature service:

1. right after receiving a new ID card at the State Migration Service’s territorial unit at the place of registration
2. register an electronic signature on a previously issued ID card in any territorial unit of the State Migration Service, regardless of the place of registration.

To record QES on an ID card chip, you will need a PIN (PIN 2), which is personally specified by the owner of the ID card when it is received. Registration of the QES and inserting it on the chip ID card is optional (not obligatory). However, if the ID card holder does not wish to receive such a service, he will not be able to take full advantage of the digital signature.

Where to run if you have lost your Ukrainian citizen’s passport (and even if you are in Donetsk, Lugansk and Crimea), what documents are needed to recover it, what is the price of the issue.

Where can I recover my Ukrainian passport?

First of all, let’s be clear that according to the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada, passports can be exchanged in the following cases:

• change of name, surname or patronymic;
• record discrepancies;
• document is unsuitable for use.

Therefore, if your passport is canceled for various reasons but you still have it (in your hands), you should contact the State Migration Service’s territorial office at the place of registration in Ukraine.

If a Ukrainian citizen’s passport has been stolen, a corresponding statement should be filed with the National Police. There you will be issued a certificate and extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, which will confirm the fact that your passport was stolen.

If the passport of a citizen of Ukraine has been lost, it is not necessary to contact the police. The moment you submit your passport renewal application to the State Migration Service, the previous document will automatically be considered invalid.

According to the resolution of the Parliament, there are now two passports in Ukraine: a booklet and an ID card.

If you have lost your passport of a citizen of Ukraine of booklet model, you should contact the State Migration Service at your place of residence or the appropriate administrative service center. In that case, if the you have lost your passport ID card model is missing, you can apply to any department of State Migration Service or administrative service center, regardless of the place of registration.

How to live without a Ukrainian citizen’s passport?

Until the receipt of the new Ukrainian passport, its role will be served by a temporary ID in your name, which you are obliged to provide to the migration department based on your application.

Please note: If you do not receive your passport within one year, this document becomes invalid.

If you find an old passport before the new one is made, the issuance of a new document will be suspended. If the “loss” was found after the production of a new one, the old passport must be submitted to the migration department.

What documents are needed to recover a Ukrainian citizen’s passport?

To recover your passport, you must bring the following list of different documents to the appropriate service:

• statement of loss or theft of the Ukrainian passport (model 1994);
• extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (in case the passport was stolen);
• certificate of registration of internally displaced persons (for displaced persons);
• court decision to identify the person (for persons who have not been identified as a result of the identification procedure);
• a document certifying the identity of the legal representative / authorized person and a document confirming the authority of the person as legal representative / authorized person;
• documents proving the payment of the administrative fee or the original exemption document;
• documents confirming information for entering additional variable information in contactless electronic media and passport, but only in the presence of such documents (about residence, birth of children, change of name, marriage or divorce, as well as a certificate of assignment of an individual tax number );
• 10×15 cm photo.

The originals of the documents that you are required to return after completing the application form (except for the registration certificate and payment receipts).

How much does it cost

After applying for the renewal of the document, it must be considered within 20 working days, and within 10 working days, if an urgent passport renewal has been ordered.

A new Ukrainian citizen’s passport you will get in ID model format, not booklet.

Non-urgent registration of the passport will cost 345 UAH: 126 UAH for administrative services and another 219 UAH for the form.

If you choose the urgent registration (within 10 days), then you will have to pay 471 UAH: 252 UAH for administrative services and 219 UAH for the form.

In that case, if the passport was damaged or lost, the state tax in the amount of two non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (UAH 34) will additionally have to be paid.

What to do if you lose your passport in the uncontrolled territory of Donbass or Crimea, how to get through the checkpoint?

The first thing I would like to point out is that you will be admitted to the territory controlled by Ukraine in any case.

If you have a Ukrainian passport for travel abroad, then you can arrange a pass for crossing the intersection line using its details.

If you do not have any documents confirming your identity in your hands, you should contact the Security Service of Ukraine when crossing the line / administrative border. There you will pass the basic method of identification – write an application, the so-called “form # 1”, which everyone wrote before obtaining the first passport. Then you should contact any branch of the Migration Service of Ukraine in Donetsk, Luhansk or Kherson region and follow the instructions above.

For the rest of the regional centers of Ukraine, the deadline will be three working days, because logistics is not fast enough.

The head of the State Migration Service of Ukraine said that a passport-making service in one day would be possible in Kiev.

” We have already prepared changes to the law. In Kiev it’ll be possible to make a Ukrainian passport in one day: today application, tomorrow received. For the rest big cities of Ukraine (regional centers) the deadline remains as three working days because of logistics. It simply cannot be faster.

Obtaining a Ukrainian passport in a day should clear the room for corruption and for dishonest intermediaries who promise to produce a passport sooner than the official deadline.

The cost of Ukrainian passport – the service in one day – will increase. Also, the old production time will remain – 7 and 20 working days.

In addition, the State Migration Service of Ukraine will offer to issue two documents for one visit: an ID card and a Ukrainian biometric passport. It will cost less because they take pictures once, they also take prints once. The procedure will be faster and the cost per person lower.

In addition, all residents of Ukraine, not only residents of the capital, will be able to issue an ID card in Kiev. ” We want to cancel (unlink) the registration of the first ID card to the place of residence. Now ID is issued only at the place of registration, and it will be possible to do it anywhere in Ukraine. It will be convenient for those who, for example, are registered in Lviv and live in Kiev. We have already prepared amendments to the law and regulations to remove this restriction. I expect that they will be approved in the near future “.

This article answers the popular questions regarding obtaining a Ukrainian passport for citizens living in the Donetsk and Lugansk military zones. The process of obtaining a Ukrainian passport is one of the most common topics for fraudsters. Many men lost money because they did not understand the issue. Read carefully to know the truth.

What are the rules for processing documents for citizens from temporary occupied territories of Ukraine (Donetsk and Lugansk regions)?

The rules for passport application/ registration of biometric documents (Ukrainian passport for traveling abroad and ID-passport) are the same for all citizens of Ukraine. These rules are approved by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 25, 2015 No. 302 (Ukrainian ID-passport) and dated May 7, 2014 No. 152 (Ukrainian (biometric) passport for traveling abroad).

Identification of a person is an important step in the application of any document. No one can be documented without this procedure. The decision to issue a document or to refuse its registration is made on the basis of the results of identification and verification of the person’s identity to the citizenship of Ukraine. The task of the authorities is to make sure that this person is indeed a citizen of Ukraine.

Where the documents should be applied?

Documents for application of Ukrainian (biometric) passport for traveling abroad are submitted to any division of the State migration service of Ukraine, regardless of the place of residence.

Addresses and contact details of the territorial units of the migration service operating in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions

Department of State Migration Service in Donetsk oblast

Address: 30A Georgievska Street, Mariupol, 87515

Phone: (06273) 6-40-12, (0629) 58-73-09, (0629) 58-73-75

Email: dn_zmidmsu.gov.ua

Department of State Migration Service in Lugansk oblast

Address: 12 Partyzanska Street, Severodonetsk, 93404

Phone: (067) 315-85-81, (097) 342-32-59

Email: lgdmsu.gov.ua

What is the deadline for paperwork to expect?

If the applicant has submitted a passport of old model (1994 model), issued in the territories occupied by Russian-terrorist troops and does not have a valid Ukrainian passport to travel abroad, which can be traced/validated in the State register, such person will be identified will be done by sending requests for information. So the identification procedure can take up to two months.

In such cases, it is not recommended to pay an increased amount of the administrative fee for the urgent processing of documents (10 working days for ID-passport and 7 working days for passport for Ukrainian biometric passport for traveling abroad).

How is identification performed?

The main way of identification is to obtain the identity information from the Ukrainian Unified State Demographic Register, which contains information about all persons who have issued new ID-passports.

If the applicant represents a Passport of citizen of Ukraine of 1994 model (passport-booklet), the identification shall be made according to the information on the person stored on paper in the files of the territorial unit of the State Migration Service of Ukraine, which issued the passport.

If there is no access to the files (actual for territories temporarily occupied by Russian-terrorist troops – ORDLO and Crimea), identification can be carried out on the information of the person according to available state and unified registers, other information bases owned by the state or enterprises, institutions and organizations.

At the same time, the State Migration service of Ukraine sends requests for information from the existing state and unified registers, information bases, files, including photos of the person, which will allow identification of the person. The verification process takes into account all information provided by the applicant.

Why the identification process cannot be done by Ukrainian passport of 1994 model (booklet)?

The passport of a Ukrainian citizen of the 1994 model is an outdated document. It can be forged even at home. That is why, at every request of the documentary person, starting from 2013, the data of the passport is verified with the data of the State Migration service of Ukraine file to which this passport was issued.

Due to the actions of Russia (the aggressor state), Ukraine has lost access to individual files, and therefore the ability to provide documentation for individual citizens who, apart from the passport of a Ukrainian citizen of the 1994 model, had no other document.

What documents are required for people whose passport where issued in the occupied territories?

There is no comprehensive list of documents, as is the obligation of the person to provide such documents. However, it should be remembered that if the documents provided do not identify the person, the migration service will be forced to refuse to issue the document.

According to the legislation of Ukraine, according to international rules of documentation, requirements for national security, security of society and every citizen, it is impossible to issue a new document for an unidentified person!

Before you visit a unit of the State Migration Service or the Center for Administrative Services, it is advisable to carefully fill out the questionnaire and bring with you documents or copies.

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