The Embassy is aware of a number of Australian citizens being defrauded by bogus Internet friendship, dating, marriage and employment schemes purportedly operating from Russia. These large-scale, well-organised scams typically result from connections made through Internet dating schemes or chat rooms. Once a virtual relationship develops, the Australian citizen is asked by their friend, prospective marriage partner or a business contact to send money to enable travel to Australia. Once the money has been received, the relationship is usually terminated and any chance of recovering the funds is highly unlikely.

The scammers often make use of what appear to be Australian Government email addresses to send fraudulent emails to the Australian party, informing them that the friend or prospective marriage partner has been granted a visa to visit Australia to further the relationship. The message may include fake details of a non-existent visa.

The Australian Government has notified the Government of Russia about its concern over this matter BUT there is little the Australian Government can do to assist citizens who fall victim to the individuals and agencies behind these schemes.

BEWARE OF SENDING MONEY OVERSEAS TO A PEN-FRIEND, PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE PARTNER OR A BUSINESS CONTACT TO VISIT AUSTRALIA TO FURTHER A RELATIONSHIP BEGUN OVER THE INTERNET.

TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Treat with caution any request to forward money. We understand that individuals have been asked to provide funding for airline tickets, visas, hospitalisation and excessive customs duty.

Verify the authenticity of an e-mail message purportedly from the Australian Embassy in Moscow advising you of visa details relating to your friend or prospective spouse. Unless you have been formally authorised to receive such information, the message is likely to be a fake. You can verify its authenticity by sending a new message to

explaining the situation and asking for verification that the details did indeed come from that office. Do not simply “forward” or “reply” to the message sent to you since it may go back to the scammers rather than to the office of Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).

Seek authoritative information about Australia’s visa requirements, procedures and costs through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website or (for the cost of a local call) through the 24-hour national telephone service inquiry line on 131881. Information can also be found on the DFAT web-site at

If you wish to proceed in assisting someone’s travel to Australia, consider prepaying for airline tickets directly with the carrier.

BEWARE

You can never be sure of the true identity, including age, gender or nationality, of an Internet correspondent

Once money has been advanced, the Australian Government has no legal power to assist in its retrieval

The recovery of funds is a private legal matter and the onus for recovery is on the individual

The Australian Government can assist only by providing the names of in-country legal representatives

As with other types of scams, travel to the country in question in order to "sort things out" can be dangerous. It is not advisable.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF A FINANCIAL SCAM

The Australian Federal Polices advises you to report the matter to your State/ Territory Police Services and request that your report be forwarded to INTERPOL. In order to enable to address the problem to the local authorities please provide them with the following information:

a. Name, date of birth, place of birth of the person you were corresponding with

b. Any contacting details given (address, e-mail, telephone etc)

c. How did you meet on-line (which site/chat room?)

d. How long were you in correspondence with the person before s/he asked for money for the first time?

e. How did you send the money? If through a money transfer agent (e.g. Western Union) which office did you send it to and where?

f. How much money have you sent in total?

The Embassy also encourages you to report the matter to the Russian police authorities. In order to submit a claim to the Russian police you are required to visit the Russian Embassy or Consulate (whose employees are authorised to act on behalf of police officers) and request assistance with reporting the matter in the Russian language.

The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Canberra is located at the following address:

78 Canberra Avenue

Griffith ACT 2603

Phone :(02) 6295 9033

Consular Section Phone :(02) 6295 9474

FAX :(02) 6295 1874

E-mail:

The Russian Consulate General in Sydney:

7-9 Fullerton Street, Woollahra, NSW 2025

(8-10-612) 9326-1866, 9326-1702

This is highly likely to be a scam. We would strongly advise you not to send any money if requested.

Useful Links

Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs at

You may wish to visit the following site This site provides an insight on what is happening on the internet with similar types of e-mails.

You may also wish to contribute information to the private web-sites such as or However, please note that the Australian Government is not associated or affiliated with this site and does not control or endorse the content or accuracy of the information contained on the site.

Contact information:

Russia: +7 495 660 4511

Fax: +7 495 956 6162

Email:

Telephone Operating Hours:

Monday to Friday, excluding UK and some Australian public holidays

12pm – 3pm Moscow time for Russian and other non-English language services – summer
4pm – 7pm Moscow time for English language services – summer

1pm – 4pm Moscow time for Russian and other non-English language services – winter
5pm – 8pm Moscow time for English language services – winter

Moscow website :
DIBP website:

DIBP Privacy Policy: