Category: Blog

Both the best and the worst human qualities are manifested in war. Today, the world’s attention is focused on the heroic resistance of the Ukrainians. For online scammers this is another opportunity to make easy money. When you see on TV a picture of destroyed Ukrainian cities and refugees who are forced to leave their homes, you want to help them. This sentimental impulse does not always correlate with logic and facts. We are ready to help, often without thinking about who my money will go to. Fraudsters are well aware of this and seize the moment (extort your money).

Some time ago we received an email from alleged victims of war in Ukraine asking for help.

Hi, I’m in Ukraine and we’re in the middle of a terrible war

Hi! I am in Ukraine, we have a terrible war going on and I am asking for your help with tears in my eyes.
I have had more grief. I am a mother of two children and our house was destroyed by Russian missiles, everything we had gained was burned. We lost our homes, we have nowhere to live. We are hiding in basements from bombing and praying to stay alive, we eat what we can. We have only what we are wearing.
I am asking for help. My children are freezing, there is nothing to eat and nowhere to live.
If there is any way – I would be grateful for any financial support.
Paypal: [text removed]
Bitcoin wallet: [text removed]
When transferring please write at least the word help and your name.
Thank you for your help and understanding, God give you health and peace in your home!

You have to be very careful with such messages. The risk of just losing your money is close to 100%.

Here are the highlights (red flags) that should alert you to this and similar letters:

• The first question you need to ask yourself is where did she get your email address? It is unlikely that the Russian bombing gave her the gift to guess e-mail addresses.
• In fact, this message is anonymous. The one who allegedly asks does not indicate his full name, date of birth, phone number or any other contact. Instead, you see the Bitcoin wallet number and PayPal. Potentially the person you are donating money to can be anywhere on the planet.
• These potential refugees are asking for financial help. But the money must be transferred via Bitcoin or PayPal. How is she going to pay with bitcoins in a bombed-out city with destroyed infrastructure?
• Banks and ATMs do not work in places of hostilities.
• Remember that money loses its function in war. You can’t just go to the grocery store and buy yourself some food. Because the stores no longer exist, they are destroyed. So in such situations there are various charitable organizations and foundations where you can transfer your money. Food, medicine and everything necessary are purchased in large batches and delivered to the places of hostilities, where it is later distributed free of charge to the needy.

I need to verify a person from Ukraine

Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, we have recorded numerous frauds related to war escapes and refugees. Fraudsters deceive people on the pretext that they need money for a taxi – get to a safe place, to Poland, to the border etc. If you want to verify a person from Ukraine before sending her some money, we can help you.

We’re native Ukrainians based in Ukraine. We know how the real situation is. We have the necessary knowledge, experience and tools to verify people from Ukraine. The result is ready within 24 hours.

We only took pictures on big occasions last 20 years or so. But now, in the era of social media, you can share your every step for the world to see. Some plots and locations are especially popular, for example, a photo with a bouquet of flowers. There are at least 7 reasons why a girl can do it.

Wants to show her off

A kindergarten kid behaves like this: “I have, but you don’t”.  But sometimes a girl grows up, but her habits die hard. Photos with huge bouquets of flowers on Instagram are taken to show that life is good (unlike the rest). Here, look, watch me. I’m appreciated, they love me, envy me!

However, this is a sin of women, whose life in reality is not very rich in interesting events. Fur coats, jewelry and flowers begin to be shown to others when there is nothing else to show.

It is especially funny if the flowers do not belong to the lady herself, but to a friend or colleague. As a result, photos of different people with the same bouquet appear on social networks.

She’s not very good in posing

The camera is now in every phone. But not nearly all girls have modeling skills. Many girls feel awkward in front of the lens. They don’t know how to stand up and where to put their hands.

The obvious solution is to take something. Of course, a jar of canned peas will not work as a prop. But hugging a soft toy, raising a glass of champagne or holding a bouquet of flowers are quite working versions. The only problem is that it’s a broken record.

She rarely gets flowers

Alas, many men are not as romantic as the beautiful half of humanity would like. In fact, most women are very pleased when they are given flowers, but men only do this on feast days only. Someone saves money in this way, while someone does not understand at all what the beauty of bunches is, so they do not buy them.

So it turns out that Russian women rarely see flowers and treat them like something extraordinary. And you want to take a souvenir photo with a rare thing.

She wants to act as a sensitive artist

Many romantic girls associate themselves with flowers. A photo with a bouquet sends the message: “I am beautiful and tender, like a flower.”

The main thing here is to follow the overall composition of the frame. And it happens that in the center of the photo there is a huge bunch of flowers, and on the side there is a bedside table littered with makeup and a spotted mirror. Or in the background, a vacuum cleaner looks out the door and the wallpaper sticks off. Unearthly beauty!

Trying to make you jealous

A girl may try to play on the feelings of a guy in this way. By posting a photo with a luxurious bouquet, you can show your ex: “Look and eat your heart out, I’m beautiful and successful!” Someone would tickle the nerves of the current fan. Someone thus tickles the nerves of the current fan. Like, keep him guessing, where I got the flowers from, and let him hold on tighter to such a sought-after young lady.

To be honest, such manipulations also evoke thoughts about kindergarten. But if a couple cannot live without quarrels and violent reconciliations, that’s their business.

Tries to show she’s not worse than others

Beloved gave Natasha a beautiful bouquet. She got all excited, took a picture with flowers and posted it online so a chain reaction began. Soon similar photos were posted by Sasha, Dasha and Olga. Why?  I want him to stay grounded. We’re all fine, too!

Even if one of their boyfriends is not very romantic (or there’s no boyfriend), this is not a hindrance. We know what to do. You can always “rent” someone else’s bouquet or buy flowers yourself.

She likes flowers

The last reason is spectacularly prosaic. Yes, a girl can just love flowers very much and be photographed with bouquets, without a second thought, as if they were works of art. Why do you take pictures on vacation against the backdrop of palm trees or the Eiffel Tower?

The reasons why a girl has her photo taken with flowers can be different. But, in the end, social networks were created in order to share moments of your life with friends. And if the bouquet and its owner are beautiful, why not show this shot?

Verify the woman from Russia you met online

There are more concerns about that Russian girl you met online? We help people to verify Russian woman (pictures, passport, social networks, address, phone number). We have a great deal of expertise within girls from Ukraine and Russia. Count on us!

Preparing to leave Ukraine

How much money I’m allowed to withdraw in Ukraine per day during martial law?

You can withdraw US dollars or Euros from your foreign currency account in Ukraine. Possible is the amount of up to 30 thousand UAH equivalent to a day. Allowed limit is an equivalent of 30 thousand UAH per day. Let’s say you have an account in USD. So you can withdraw a little more than a thousand dollars a day. If the account is in Euros, you can withdraw about 900 Euros a day.

The official exchange rate of Ukrainian Hryvnia to the US dollar is 29,25 UAH/1$, the exchange rate of Hryvnia to the Euro is 33,07 UAH/1 EUR (as for 29.03.2022).

How do I buy USD or EUR in Ukraine during martial law?

The purchase of foreign currency is prohibited (the ban is effective from February 24, 2022). Exceptions: purchase of currency in bank branches located in territories under threat of occupation by the aggressor state (if currency is available).

I’m going to leave Ukraine. What should I do to my cash in UAH?

There’s no sense to move cash in Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH) out of the country. You will either not be able to exchange it abroad, or you will exchange it at a very unfavorable rate.

Transfer your cash Hryvnia to your card account in Ukraine in advance. This can be done: in the working branch of the bank, with your passport; through self-service terminals that support accepting cash and ATMs with cash acceptance function. When you’re abroad you pay by card.

Crossing the border into a foreign country

How much money I’m allowed to have crossing the Ukrainian border during martial law?

The requirement to declare currency values in the amount of more than 10 thousand euros per person (equivalent) remains. However, the need to provide supporting documents on cash withdrawals from own accounts and purchase of bank metals is not required.

If you leave in a car, a green card insurance policy is optional (for Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Moldova).

How about COVID tests?

COVID documents and medical insurance are not checked when crossing the Ukrainian border. However, may be required in destination countries.

Way of paying abroad

I’m about to leave Ukraine. What’s the best way to pay abroad?

For payments abroad, prefer non-cash payments: hryvnia and currency payment cards, ApplePay and GooglePay.

When you’re abroad, in ATMs you can withdraw cash from both foreign currency and Hryvnia cards. Conversion of such transactions will take place at the rate set by the international payment system (rather than the cash exchange rate).

Important notice: The National Bank of Ukraine did not set any restrictions on non-cash payments both domestically and abroad.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, 2002 martial law was imposed. Ukraine’s war with Russia has an impact on monetary transactions. We tried to analyze what are the ways to transfer money to Ukraine to support your family and friends.

You can use one of instant transfer systems or online services

Western Union

System of international money transfers allows you to send money to Ukraine during the war. You can send in UAH, USD or EUR. Some Ukrainian banks allow the receiver to get his money online – directly to a bank account. To avoid possible cancellations we recommend to send money using one of the WU’s offices (not online).

Ria

RIA operates in 160 countries. Works similar to Western Union.  Some Ukrainian banks allow crediting RIA money transfers directly to the card.

Money Gram

Quite popular way to send money to Ukraine.  Comparing to RIA and Western Union may cause a problem, cancel your transaction. You will get a refund but waste your time as well.

Wise

AKA wise.com and TransferWise. Works perfectly well sending money to Ukraine from USA, Germany, Canada, Australia and other civilized countries. Works fast, money goes directly to your friend’s account. Their commissions are fair and transparent. You have to know the full details of your friend’s account (IBAN, bank name, address, phone number etc). Make sure your receiver gets the amount in UAH (while you send it in USD or EUR). In terms of commission, it’s the cheapest way to send money to Ukraine.

PayPal

Finally PayPal is available in Ukraine. Your friends and relatives can receive money via PayPal and transfer to their Ukrainian bank cards (use it).

russia goodbye

Forget about Russian money transfer systems such as YandexMoney, Azimo, WebMoney etc.  They are now banned by a civilized world as well as their terrorist state. It should be avoided whenever possible.

Western Union financial services company will temporarily suspend its activities in Russia from March 24, 2022.

Unpaid transfers sent from Russia to other countries by March 24, 2022 will be available to receivers in other countries at any time. Refund in Russia will be available at any branch of Pochta Bank.

“If the sender in Russia decides to get a refund, it can be done in the office of our partners. Money transfers sent to Russia and not paid to the recipient by March 24, 2022 will be returned to the sender”, – says Western Union.

Western Union in Russia operates as the Western Union DP Vostok. The net profit of the credit institution for the six months of 2021 amounted to 817.5 million rubles.

A few days earlier, PayPal stopped working in Russia.

In connection with the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, President Zelensky issued a decree on general mobilization. This means that for the period of martial law, male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 are restricted from traveling abroad. This category of men has no right to leave Ukraine. But there are exceptions to each rule.

What categories of men can leave Ukraine during the war?

1. Those who cannot join the Army because of medical reasons. The military ID card must state that the man was declared unfit for military service by the medical commission during wartime. If the certificate states unfitness in peacetime or limited fitness in wartime, this will not give the right to cross the border.
2. Men who have three and more children under the age of 18. Birth certificates must be presented stating that this man is a father.
3. Men who raise a child under the age of 18 on their own. There must be a court decision depriving the mother of parental rights, a death certificate of the mother or a court decision declaring the mother missing or declared dead. The fact of divorce and determination of the child’s place of residence together with the father does not give grounds for going abroad.
4. Men at whose expense there are kids under 18 with disabilities. This is confirmed by an identity card with a disability.
5. Ukrainian men who support adult children with disabilities of 1-2 groups. Confirmed by a certificate.
6. Men elderly caregivers, males over 80 or persons with disabilities.
7. Ukrainian men who are adoptive parents, guardians, guardians or foster parents. Must be approved by the guardianship authorities.
8. Those whose close relatives have died or gone missing as a result of anti-terrorist operations. The Department of Social Policy issues the following decision.

The State Migration Service of Ukraine has suspended a number of services due to the war. Due to the Russian invasion, the work of information and communication systems of the migration service has been suspended. A number of administrative services are also not provided due to martial law.

Ukrainian citizens will not be able to get a Ukrainian passport. Ready documents are also not delivered to territorial branches.

Insert of new photos into their passports for Ukrainians aged 25 and 45 is temporarily unavailable.

What people should do

At the same time, all people staying in Ukraine must have identity documents. This can be a domestic or foreign passport.

For foreigners and stateless persons, this is a residence permit or refugee certificate. If the passport or other document has expired, it can be presented under martial law.

We tell you what currency transactions cannot be done. Ukrainians are temporarily banned from buying foreign currency due to martial law. Instead, you can sell the currency in the working branches of banks, postal operators and exchange offices, without restrictions. This and other permitted transactions are reported by the National Bank of Ukraine.

Ukrainians are allowed to withdraw from the foreign currency account the equivalent of 30,000 hryvnias per day without commissions, and in the national currency – 100,000 hryvnias per day.

Ukrainians can use their payment cards abroad both for cash withdrawals and for non-cash payments. It is noted that there are no restrictions on non-cash payments abroad.

Any transactions with Russian or Belarusian rubles are strictly prohibited. Such cards cannot be used to pay in Ukraine, as well as to make transfers, withdraw cash from them and conduct other transactions.

Earlier we wrote about that passport is not required to buy a SIM card in Ukraine. But things are changing. The Ukrainian authorities want to oblige Ukrainians to contract phone numbers linked to bank cards to make them personal.

This year marks 20 years since the first Ukrainian bank, PrivatBank, began using mobile numbers to authorize its customers. This practice was later adopted by other banks. Now all Ukrainian bank cards are somehow linked to a phone number. Therefore, fraudsters often try to steal citizens’ numbers to gain access to their finances.

If the number is registered, a passport will be required to reissue the card. And in case of fraud, the citizen will be able to defend his rights in court.

“If you want to have a phone that you will continue to use for financial transactions or for digital services, in particular for obtaining an electronic digital signature, it must have a contract with a mobile operator so that the scammer can not steal it” , – such an explanation is given by the legislator.

Currently, SIM card binding is valid in almost 100 countries around the world: from Norway and Germany to Russia and Belarus.

Getting a mobile card is as easy as possible with free circulation and it is quite difficult to track the subscriber’s actions. But in reality, the free circulation of SIM cards benefits far more than ordinary citizens. Among the beneficiaries:

• mobile operators – less costs for the organization of the subscriber connection procedure, and no need to organize the collection and strict storage of personal data;
• dating scammers;
• businesses that make aggressive sales over the phone – you can buy unlimited number of SIM-cards without any identification (SPAM);
• collection organizations, which instead of litigation are engaged in extortion of plaintiffs and their relatives (which have nothing to do with loans);
• fraudsters, criminals and other citizens who break the law, which even law enforcement agencies find difficult to detect and identify;
• corrupt political elites who are afraid of persecuting and recording their violations by identifying calls from certain numbers.

The idea of linking a number to a passport in Ukraine is often feared, appealing to the right to privacy and confidentiality. Citizens are simply afraid that they will be monitored by special services. But it is important to understand that with the current development of technology, it is possible to track the actions of citizens in other ways. Often people report too much information about themselves on social networks.

How do I check Ukrainian phone number?

One of the ways we verify Ukrainian women on dating sites is checking their phone number. Unfortunately, it’s a popular situation when a man from America is convinced he’s communicating a beautiful Ukrainian lady, but when we check her phone number it appears it belongs to a guy (!) To avoid such a stress, order our service of checking a lady from Ukraine to make sure she’s real.

So you’ve met a woman from Ukraine, spent some time together. Now she returned to Ukraine and claims to be pregnant. Furthermore, she’s sending you some medical records (reports) and ultrasound in Ukrainian or Russian. She threatens lawsuits if you not send her money.

That’s all it is, it’s stress. You have doubts about her claims; you want to check her documents. You want to make sure if the doctor is treating her, if she’s in hospital… You need to know if she’s telling the truth.

This is something very important, because a lady can deceive you, manipulate the facts and simply scam you.

We can help you in this alarming situation. We have the necessary knowledge and experience.

We’ll analyze your case and offer an action plan. The woman will not know anything about this check.

We will find a qualified doctor who could verify the authenticity of her words, ultrasound, any kind of medical reports and so on. This way, you will know if her words are true.

If you are interesting in our services, please contact us right now. We’re ready to hit the ground running the weirdest cases.