There have been allegations that Mari El, and in particular its capital city Yoshkar-Ola, are centres of operation for a number of international criminal gangs, who obtain money from people by fraudulent means. The Mari El Republic (Russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл; Mari: Марий Эл Республика) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... Yoshkar-Ola (Йошка́р-Ола́) is a city in Russia, capital of the Mari El republic. ...
A number of dating scams are said to originate in Mari El, whereby criminals will place profiles on dating sites, often using fake identities and photographs (although the profiles will typically state that they come from a variety of locations in Russia and other former Soviet Union states). What they will typical do is establish a correspondence with people, "fall in love" in a very short time, and then attempt to obtain money on various pretexts.
Reports vary as to the extent of the problem, with some sources indicating that as many as 50% of the male and 90% of the female profiles on dating sites are bogus. Other sources are more conservative, however, and estimate that only about 10% of the profiles are false. The extent of fraud will vary from site to site, as some dating sites carry out more stringent checks and vetting procedures than others.
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