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Ukraine home to about 100,000 phone scammers targeting Russians — senior diplomat

TASS · 🇺🇦 public Ukraine · · 118 words
Cybercrime and Fraud Russia-Ukraine relations Counterterrorism
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Pyotr Ilyichev, a Russian diplomat, stated at a CIS counterterrorism meeting that approximately 100,000 telephone scammers are operating from various Ukrainian cities to target Russian citizens. He claimed that the number of such schemes increased significantly between 2021 and 2023.

Propaganda risk 40%
Claims checked 5
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Approximately 100,000 telephone scammers targeting Russian citizens are active in Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said.

Why it matters

"Back in 2024, there were around 1,500 phone scams in Ukraine.

Common ground

The number of schemes targeting Russian nationals has increased threefold from 2021-2023.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Scapegoating: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Pyotr Ilyichev, a Russian diplomat, stated at a CIS counterterrorism meeting that approximately 100,000 telephone scammers are operating from various Ukrainian cities to target Russian citizens. He claimed that the number of such schemes increased significantly between 2021 and 2023.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://tass.com/politics/2144563

analyticsAnalysis

40%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Moderate concerns. Notable use of persuasive or loaded language.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Scapegoating 80% confidence
Blaming a person or group for problems they did not cause.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing scapegoating helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
info
Claim 1: “Approximately 100,000 telephone scammers targeting Russian citizens are active in Ukraine”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly mentions that the number of Ukrainian citizens involved in these operations is estimated at approximately 100,000. While other sources confirm the existence of scam centers in Ukraine, they do not provide this specific number.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Areas of southern and eastern Ukraine are occupied and controlled by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the ongoing invasion. In Ukrainian law, they are defined as the "temporarily occu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian-occupied_territories_o…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “approximately 100,000 Ukrainian citizens are involved in the schemes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
This is essentially the same claim as index 0. One web search result explicitly estimates the number of Ukrainian citizens involved in these operations at approximately 100,000.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the current phase of the war, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. By Apri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukrai…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “The number of schemes targeting Russian nationals has increased threefold from 2021-2023.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about numbers and the 2021 census, with no data regarding the growth rate of phone scam schemes targeting Russians between 2021 and 2023.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 Russian census (Russian: Всероссийская перепись населения 2021 года, romanized: Vserossiyskaya perepis naseleniya 2021 goda, lit. '2021 All-Russian population census') was the first census of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Russian_census
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Legislative elections were held in Russia from 17 to 19 September 2021. At stake were 450 seats in the 8th convocation of the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Going into the electi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Russian_legislative_elect…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In March and April 2021, before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia's border with Ukraine and in Crim…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelude_to_the_2022_Russian_in…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 4: “And they are mostly operating from Dnepropetrovsk with about 500 organizations, Kiev, Odessa, Lvov, Kharkov, and Ivano-Frankovsk”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result confirms that scam call centers operate in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Lviv, with 250-300 people working simultaneously. However, it does not mention the specific '500 organizations' in Dnepropetrovsk or the other specific cities listed in the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 26 April 1986, reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukraine, exploded. With dozens of direct casualties and thousands of health complications stemming from the disa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 1906 – 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until his death in 1982. He al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russia has launched waves of missile and drone strikes against energy in Ukraine as part of its invasion. From 2022 the strikes targeted civilian areas beyond the battlefield, particularly critical po…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_strikes_against_Ukrain…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “Back in 2024, there were around 1,500 phone scams in Ukraine.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence mentions the industry's monthly revenue and general criminal shifts, but there is no mention of a specific figure of '1,500 phone scams' in 2024.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian separatist armed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the existing war between the two countries that began when Ru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_war_(2022–pres…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slova…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.