Method Named to Return Money Transferred to Scammers

Lawyer Baranova: Money Transferred to Scammers Can Be Returned Through Court

Fraudulent activities targeting citizens are gaining momentum daily, affecting people of various ages. However, few know that there is a possibility to recover lost funds, according to lawyer Lika Baranova.

According to the lawyer, current practice offers two options: filing a police report or submitting a statement of claim to court based on unjust enrichment. She noted that it`s important not to confuse criminal legal relations with civil law relations.

Currently, many fraudsters use third-party cards, so-called `drops,` to receive funds to avoid exposing their own details. It is often to these individuals that victims of scams transfer their money.

Therefore, to recover your money through civil law procedure, you must take the following steps, Baranova explained. First, identify the details of the cardholder who received the money and send them a pre-trial claim demanding the return of the unjust enrichment, in accordance with Article 1102 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If the cardholder cannot be identified, the claim should be addressed to the bank whose cardholder received the funds.

After observing the pre-trial dispute resolution procedure and receiving no response from the other party, you can confidently file a statement of claim for the recovery of unjust enrichment, the lawyer stated. The defendant in this case will be the person to whom the pre-trial claim was initially sent – either the cardholder or the bank, she indicated.

“If the statement of claim was filed against the bank, the latter is entitled to argue in court that it did not receive the funds and is not the proper defendant. In such a case, you need to ask the court to make a request to the bank for the details of the proper defendant, i.e., the cardholder. After the cardholder`s details are established, you should file a petition to change the defendants. After the court`s decision enters into legal force, obtain a writ of execution and submit it for compulsory collection,” the lawyer elaborated.

You cannot immediately request information about the cardholder from the bank, as they are not authorized to provide it in accordance with legislation, the lawyer emphasized.

“Note that the entire process occurs within the framework of civil law relations. As plaintiffs, you should rely solely in court on the fact that the defendant received the funds without legal basis, for example, by mistakenly transferring money, rather than in the course of fraudulent actions. Similar practice is also used by the prosecutor`s office, which can also represent citizens` interests in civil proceedings,” Baranova concluded.

Previously, Russians who like to talk to scammers were warned against doing so, as malicious actors can obtain important information about the interlocutor during the conversation. As expert Sergey Zolotukhin noted, they can record voices and use them in fake calls.