Russia Investigators Offer Tips on How to Avoid Russian Scams

For years Russians have ruled the market of online dating scams along with the Nigerians, Filipinos and Ukrainians. Russian private investigators from Russia PI™ have seen men from the western world loosing it all in the name of a false love relationships and business fraud.  There are many risks in the Baltic region, and although Russian bride scams are the most widely known, business fraud and  investment fraud in the region are also major burdens for foreigners.

Russian women often hide behind their fake profiles on dating and match making sites.  In other cases, it may not be a woman at all behind that beautiful photograph.  Fake businesses often have elaborate and impressive websites, but there may not be any real company.  No company registration, no real office, nothing.  Only a bank account where you can send your money.

Criminals often work from home or a cyber café, hiding behind false IP address and proxy servers, creating a complicated scam where you may not even know the person you’re communicating with is based in Russia.  He or she may have a U.S.  or U.K. address and phone number, and have the ID and documents and accent to match.  In short, these criminals are good at what they do.

The modus operandi is usually the same. You are contacted by email or social networking site, and there is romantic interest or a tempting business proposal.  Slowly, the criminal will work to gain your trust.  Once he or she has your trust, you might start to reveal your personal data, and this is where the damage is done.  Soon, you will lose your wallet, or jeopardize your entire company.

Scammers typically have some kind of complication, and need help with fees, processing, shipping or an emergency.  Or, a business scam can be so convincing, that you might send your funds to a lawyer or a China or U.K. or Switzerland bank account, only to find out later that the company didn’t exist.  Romance scammers are professionals and basically know the steps to take and the words to say for you to believe them. Your mind tells you something is not right, but your heart is eager to believe. The investment seems risky, but there is so much to gain… What to do?

When getting involved in internet relationships whether they are romantic, friendships or business it is always wise to check on the person you are getting involved with. Verify all international people and businesses.  There are professional investigation services available in Russia and the Ukraine that will find out the truth for you and will conduct a confidential investigation and verification process by a Russia private investigator.  If something does not feel right, listen to your instincts and contact a professional.  If everything seems perfect, perhaps too perfect, contact a reputable private investigator for a free consultation.  Finally, if there are no red flags but the person you are dealing with resides in Russia, be aware that Easter Europe is a high risk environment, and a complete background check or due diligence is always recommended.

Never send money or personal information to anyone abroad who has not been verified.  Ask for references and be careful about sharing your personal information.  Search Google to see what others are saying about the person or company.  Be skeptical and verify.

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2012 A Hathaway

UK Private Investigators Advise Caution in Social Networks

Mark Zuckerberg and his billion dollar company is going public and soon investors around the world will be able to buy shares of one of the most successful internet companies.  If you have a Facebook profile, did you know that your information is being sold along with that IPO?  That’s right, by sharing all that private information, Facebook has sold everything they know about you to third parties, companies, advertisers and other unknown buyers.  You are for sale, and Facebook and other social networking sites want you to share all the information you can!

There are over 750 million users who have helped Mr. Zuckerberg earn more money than most people can dream of.  His secret, using your private information without your knowledge, and then selling that information for the highest price possible, to as many buyers as possible.  And Facebook is not alone (although Google and Facebook rank the worst in violating user’s privacy).  What you share on the internet, and even your searching online is being watched. 

If a person and his company getting super rich thanks to all your sharing of personal information on his website without offering you any reward for your valuable information isn’t enough reason for you to think twice about Facebook, perhaps you should pay attention to all the risks involved in all this sharing.  Law enforcement and UK private investigators say increasing numbers of crimes are being committed by using information found on the internet, and users of social networking sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and countless others are prime hunting grounds for criminals.  All that you share is not private, even if you think it is only seen by your friends.  The information is being sold and shared, and Big Brother is watching you.  Google and Facebook are busy compiling extensive information about you, so you can be sold to companies and advertisers.

Facebook violates your privacy right and that is a crime, according to the U.S. constitution (4rth Amendment). With its new application Timeline, Facebook makes more public information you posted since the first day you joined the network, and that includes thoughts, shares, pictures and comments you did in other friends’ profiles. That is a risk even if you are trying to find a better job or you just changed your political or religious views from those you had 2 or 4 years ago.

Posting employment and education information online, and your date of birth, full name, etc is  a fast way to be a victim of identity theft.  Think your full name and age on the internet is safe to publish?  Think again.  Sites that blatantly publish your private data without your consent such as PeopleFinders, Intelius, MyLife and Spokeo make it easy for criminals and others to find your information, including your siblings, date of birth and address.  Google Maps and other sites even put a picture of your home on the internet, so criminals know how to get there.

Most of the people accessing your information on the internet are probably law abiding citizens,  But, mixed in with them are cyber criminals, rapists, pedophiles, business frauds and con artists, romance scammers and even murderers around the world.  Social networking sites are the choice among criminals to learn about you, stalk you, and gather information to steal your identity, money or even cause you or your family physical harm.  Be safe, think twice when posting on social networking sites and remember, your private information is valuable – guard it.

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2012 A Hathaway

International Private Investigators Discuss the Importance of Privacy

Privacy is a right in most cases, but is also a responsibility for individuals and business to protect.  Private information is valuable and sought after by criminals and unscrupulous companies that want your information for marketing and other reasons.  Private information is anything that can identify a person: name, address, phone number, social security number, photographs, medical records, bank information, services you use, preferred spots to travel and even the airlines you use to get there, etc.  People often take their privacy for granted when using the internet and social networking sites, but the issue is becoming more important than ever.  Ignoring the risk and not protecting your private information can be a costly learning experience.  The privacy battle has begun.

Under the motto of “sharing” online, many consumers and business are finding out the real world risks of putting your moments and personal information on the internet for the world to see.  Even if you think you only share with your friends, privacy experts say your information often ends up in the wrong hands, visible to internet criminals, or at the very least, being sold by Facebook and other sites to profit from your personal information.  They are in business to profit from you.  The more you share, the more they share about you, and you information is sold on down the river.

Scammers have found that social networks are a great source of information to learn about a potential target.  Often they find what they need to get started in identity theft or a romance scam or fraudulent business proposal.  All that information on Facebook, Goolge and Linkedin is now a criminals first choice in learning about you, your schedule, your location, and what you like and don’t like.  Add in other sites that violate your privacy and distribute your personal information such as MyLife, Peoplefinders and Spokeo, and criminals can even get directions to your home, get a photo of your home, and find out who your family members are.  Co-workers can find out if your approximate net worth by viewing your home, and police say in increasingly murder victims, rape and internet scams are committed based on information obtained from such websites.

Remember that what you post online is not private, and may end up in the wrong hands.  Companies like Facebook and Google profit from taking and selling your personal information, so don’t be fooled.  Now, with the new architecture of Timeline in Facebook, fraudsters get a very good idea about your life for the past six years and up to date. Using Timeline, scammers will determine if you are a worthwhile target. The approach is very simple: most people join social networks to meet people with similar likes and to be friends, many join to find that special someone. Scammers have a market of over 750 million targets and are patient enough study your profile.

Google goes far beyond Facebook. With the map and location service they offer, they put the safety and privacy of everyone in danger.  Google maps can show your home, your car and even your 6 year old daughter playing in front of your home.  Criminals take full advantage of this service, and combined with sites like Facebook, you are a walking target with little to no privacy.

International private investigators say many of the crimes committed involve the internet, and criminals from scam artists to rapists and murderers use the information online to learn about you, and use the information to their advantage.  The less information about you on the internet, the safer you and your family are.  Think twice about sharing, and protect your privacy.

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2012 A Hathaway

Russia Private Investigators Urge Caution for Online Dating

Online dating fraudsters are like wolves under the full moon in a hot summer night, and won’t hesitate to go after a victim once they’ve detected one. Awareness is your best ally when you have decided to join the lonely hearts club, looking for love over the internet. Russia just happens to be one of the highest risk countries in the world, say experts, so buyer beware.

As the web evolves, scammers seem to have more sources where to get and steal from victims. Dating websites like Match.com or Cupid.com, eHarmony and countless others are a booming business. There are no dating websites for every niche and country. For many foreigners, the idea of a beautiful Russian bride is worth the risk. Many beautiful and honest Russian do in fact use these services looking for an honest man. But, more and more criminals are in the mix. It pays to be skeptical.

Thanks to Skype and the easy access to internet phone lines as well as pre-paid cell phones, romance scammers in general find it easier to contact their victims, and they are harder to trace. Internet criminals can now get a real name, address and phone number and date of birth – a real identity – from the internet quickly and easily from one of the dozens of websites that profit from violating your privacy, such as MyLife, Intelius, Peoplefinder, Spokeo and others. These sites gather your private information, publish it without your authorization, and sell it to the world. Criminals find this especially useful, and use it to conduct their online romance scams against you.

So, the scammers can use a real identity and slowly build your trust. How do you know if this person is real? The answer is, you don’t. Romance scams alone have cost the U.K. and the U.S billions of dollars since the internet dating industry went main stream in 2000. Even as more consumers and subscribers to dating and social networking sites become more educated and aware of the risks, the criminals continue to evolve.

Russia and Ukraine are among the masters in internet scams. Russia private investigators want to raise awareness of men in Western and developed countries. One main thing to keep in mind when looking for love over the internet is if it is too good to be true… well, chances are… it is. And also, apply some common sense and be cautious about revealing too much personal data. Never send money to anyone in Russia or the Ukraine who hasn’t been verified by a professional private investigator or firm with investigators on the ground in Moscow or Kiev.

Once you think you have found that perfect someone, be safe and verify. Be skeptical and take your time. Get a professional Russia background check and if everything checks out, consider a visit to Russia to get to know her better. Don’t keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best. Be smart and think of verification services as an insurance policy. It’s good to be covered.

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2012 A Hathaway

Private Investigators Say Internet Violating the Right of Privacy

The internet represents a serious and growing risk for users and their private information. The issue is becoming so serious that the media and the Federal Trade Commission have recently investigated the actual vulnerability of user profiles on Facebook and other social networking sites. Users now post private information online and share information with their “friends” that can quickly lead to identity theft and even robbery, rape and murder. Cases are popping up all over the U.S. where criminals used information found online, or on a social networking website to gather info on their victim, and then use that victim to stalk, rob or otherwise cause harm to their victim. In other cases, information found online is exactly what scammers and criminals need to steal your identity. Make no mistake, the internet is becoming more dangerous, and privacy is losing.

Facebook and Google+ have come under scrutiny of privacy advocates, and for good reason. The social networking sites don’t do enough to protect their users, say many. And even if privacy controls are available, many subscribers don’t know how to implement the changes.

And it’s not just social networking sites where your information is being spread and accessed without your authorization or knowledge. People search sites, websites such as Intelius, Spokeo and Mylife and others are profiting a great deal by accessing public records, and then publishing your private information, such as date of birth, address, criminal records, and even a photo of your house and value of your home on the internet. Google Earth shows a photo of your home, so criminals can see where you live, and how they can get it. All this information combined on the internet means your privacy is gone, violated and published for the world to see.

This violation of privacy puts you at risk for identity theft, internet scams, and financial loss. At the very least, co-workers can now see where you live, get the value of your home, and get your date of birth all by searching the internet, thanks to sites that profit by unlawfully collecting and selling your data. Think no one is searching for such information? Think again. Criminals in Russia, Philippines, China, the Ukraine, West Africa and Romania and in many other countries use this information to scam you, install viruses on your computer, send you spam, and target you.

But social networks are just the tip of the iceberg of the vast data available about you on the internet. Trademarks, criminal records, property records, civil records, family info and more is now available – all without your authorization or consent. Who gave these websites such as 123People and Radaris the right to publish your private information, and sell it to the world???

International private investigators advise caution online. Never provide much personal data on the internet on social networking sites. Remember that anything you publish online could fall into the wrong hands and be used against you. If your private information is being published without your authorization, and your privacy is violated by websites such as Mylife.com, Intelius.com, Radaris.com, Spokeo.com or Peoplefinder.com, contact them directly and demand that they remove your private information from their website. Contact your attorney general and the your congressman to ask for assistance in protecting consumers privacy on the internet.

Never before has privacy been violated on such a massive scale that is taking place today in the United States. Companies are gathering your information, publishing it without your consent, and selling it to the world without your authorization. Take a stand, and fight back!

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2012 A Hathaway

Private Investigators Reveal How Privacy is Violated by Social Networks

Before the end of the world came (according to the Mayan calendar), 2011 was known as the year of social networks. Facebook alone is considered the fourth country in the world just because its population of over 700 million users. Google has positioned itself as the most important search engine in the history of internet; considered a monopoly by most internet users in the land of free market and fair competition. There companies are the grapes of wrath for any marketing strategist craving for information and mega databases, the largest ever seen in history. What is Facebook and Google doing with all this information on its users? The answer is simple and obvious, both are using the information to profit, i.e. to make money of your private information. Both are tracking how and why you use the internet, what your habits are, and making big money.

Information is power. Search engines and social networks make your information easily accessible to just about anyone online, putting your face, photos, address, phone number, professional and education history, what you did last weekend, and more, all online for the world to see. The result? Evidence shows a sharp rise in identity theft, invasion of privacy, financial loss, home robberies and invasions, and in some cases, even rape and murder. In some cases, criminals will use social networks to see what your plans are, when you’re home, when you’re not. Criminals will search Google to find out your address, and Google maps to see what your home looks like, what the neighbors’ homes look like, and how they might break in. Co-workers are search online public records about how much your home is worth.

Google is tracking your every move online, and selling the information to well, no one really knows. The left leaning company has made it clear that it has a biased political agenda, and in some cases cooperated with big government to share private information on its users with the government. All of this can be done in the name of “national security” but you can be sure that Google is getting paid. Facebook says it is serious about protecting privacy of its users, but how can it be when using that information is precisely how the company makes money? Ads targeted to your likes, or your friends likes, who’s following who, etc? What you like or who you are is how the company and its affiliates target you with ads, and sell your information and preferences.

International private investigators warn that posting personal information on the internet is not a smart idea. No matter how safe the site appears to be, remember that information on the web can be used by anyone, for any reason, for good or bad. Think your page is private and can only be seen by your “friends”? Well, ask yourself if everyone on your list is truly a trusting and reliable close friend? The bottom line is that no website is 100% immune from fraud and scams, or theft of information. Major banks have account information stolen every year. Is your private information, photos and date of birth, name and address and more really that safe on Facebook?

Posting about a stupid thing you did last weekend can cost you a job opportunity, or even your current job, as Human Resource managers are now searching the internet about you.

Facebook keeps all its users’ information backed up in enormous servers in the U.S., Canada and Ireland, and though users are protected by each country’s laws and firewalls, all information is subject to hacking. If China can hijack American satellites, you can bet a group of criminals can access Facebook’s databases and servers. From posts, photographs, videos, comments, applications and acquaintances of their subscribers, even if they delete it or cancel their profiles, information is still there. What you post in Hi5, MySpace, Badoo, Friendster, Google+, Facebook or even Flickr, could later come back to haunt you.

Google+ exposes their users’ and their contacts every day by letting anyone know who you associate with. Even worse, Google maps exposes your address and location, and a photograph of your house and sometimes even your car. Thanks to them, cyber criminals not only get your email address and contact list, but learn who is your closest friend or even your child or spouse. When a criminal can quickly get your address and photo of your home online, and the approximate value of your home, and your daily habits and schedule, there is a high risk for crime and theft.

Professional private investigation agencies stress to be careful about posting personal information online because it is being used by social network sites for profit, without your knowledge. This violation of privacy is then made worse by search engines…

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2011 A Hathaway

Russia Private Investigators Explain the Russian Threat of Hackers

Perhaps it’s true, that there is some prejudice when people say Russia has the most hackers in the world. Law enforcement and private investigators admit it may not be the highest, but the statistics certainly confirm it’s at least one of the highest risk countries in the world, where hackers are not only a real threat, but also a praised part of the Russian society. Russia is a corrupt and inefficient country, now facing an apparent dictatorship from Putin, among other serious corruption. When Russian hackers are identified for breaking into a bank or foreign government’s computer system, or bringing down another website, they can even be viewed as heroes in Russia.

Unfortunately Russians have earned their reputation, and there is a lot of work to be done so that they lose their bad fame. However, most agree that little is being done, and if anything, the problem appears to be getting worse. By perpetrating ongoing scams since the internet began, Russians have become quite good at what they do. Poor economic conditions and high unemployment in Russia drives many talented young people to the internet, where they can use their skills to make money, illegally and unethically. There simply aren’t many other opportunities, they say.

Many of the beautiful Russian brides online are nothing more than middle aged men, overweight and lazy, but quite proficient in internet, hacking and scams. They specialize in stealing money from Australians, Americans and Canadians. But beyond prejudices, the statistics show that 35% of the crimes happening on the internet come from a source based in Russia, costing the world a total of $2.5 and $3.7 billion USD annually. This is serious business, and the criminal activity in Russia actually drives the costs up for consumers around the world. Someone has to pay for the losses, and it’s not the Russian. Companies in developed countries have to develop security systems and other costly measures to combat the fraud and hacking. That cost gets passed onto consumers, shows research by New York University’s SCPS Center for Global Affairs.

Hackers have become a powerful threat today, as everyday more and more important operations take place online. Russia private investigators say that it is not only citizens sharing content or writing emails or sending documents through the internet who are at risk, but also bank transactions, governments, and other important agencies. Defense departments, service entities and company networks have to develop defensive technologies. The threat is constant.

The truth is that most Russians have had strong aptitude in Math, technology and software development. If the political and economic situation can change in Russia, there’s a good chance that this mental capital could be used to propel the economy and advance the country. Until there is transparency and fair elections, the status quo should remain. Inefficiencies and socialist corruption left over from the former Soviet Union need to go, and then the hackers.

In the meantime, law enforcement and private investigators agree that Russian background checks performed by experienced and reputable firms can greatly reduce the risk in the region.

Best of luck,

A Hathaway
© 2011 A Hathaway