Rain TV investigation: AI-generated "husband Kolya" found in captivity within 15 minutes

Russian TV channel Dozhdh (Rain) aired an investigative documentary on June 21 exposing a wave of scammers who prey on families of Russian soldiers missing in the war in Ukraine. Journalist Yekaterina Fomina used an AI-generated photo of a fictitious missing husband to bait fraudsters, and was contacted within 15 minutes. The investigation revealed multiple criminal schemes ranging from malware downloads to tarot-card readers charging thousands of roubles for false hope.

Russian independent TV channel Dozhdh (Rain) on June 21 released an investigative film titled "Hunting for Coffin Money", exposing the fraudsters who systematically exploit families of Russian soldiers missing in the war in Ukraine.

The AI Bait

The film's author, journalist Yekaterina Fomina, created a fictitious missing husband, "Nikolai Fomin", and generated his photograph using artificial intelligence, compositing images of dozens of real Russian servicemen who had genuinely gone missing at the front. She then posted the photo across all major Telegram chats and groups dedicated to searching for missing soldiers.

Within just 15 minutes of publishing the post, Fomina received a message claiming her "husband" had been found, in Ukrainian captivity. Almost immediately, scammers posing as real Ukrainian blogger Dmytro Karpenko, who genuinely publishes interviews with Russian prisoners of war, attempted to contact her. The real Karpenko never called.

Malware, Threats, and Tarot Cards

The fraudsters' methods varied widely but shared a common goal: extracting money or data from desperate relatives. In one scheme, Fomina was sent a corrupted file under the pretext of enabling communication. Once downloaded, the malware intercepted all incoming SMS messages, including banking notifications, and mass-sent messages to everyone in the victim's contact list.

In another case, a female scammer offered to locate the missing "husband" for a fee, framing the payment as going to "fighters for various needs." When Fomina said she had missed a photo sent by supposed soldiers, a disappearing image with the caption "Is this yours?", she was coldly told: «Means it's not yours. We're zeroing him out as unidentified. You'll be more careful next time.» One of the real victims who had encountered this scheme described the emotional blackmail: «They love to write: 'Is money more important to you, or saving your person?'»

A resident of Dagestan, Inga (Indira) Musayeva, contacted Fomina claiming she had helped locate a missing person in 2024 and boasted connections to generals and a network of «700 women and 300 fighters working in all directions.» Fomina's investigation revealed that Musayeva had previously been convicted of fraud.

Other contacts offered to connect Fomina with a military lawyer, or, in perhaps the most brazen case, a tarot reader who claims to find people «by cards, by coffee grounds, by photograph» and also performs «love spells for return.»

"They Promise to Find My Kolya"

«When I started searching for my AI-generated husband, there were very many people willing to help,» Fomina said at the close of the report. «Here's another message, they promise to find my Kolya, even to add him to prisoner exchange lists. The price: 24,000 roubles. 'The main thing is to believe in the best,' writes another scammer.»

The investigation casts a stark light on a largely hidden dimension of Russia's war in Ukraine: alongside the battlefield losses, entire criminal ecosystems have emerged to monetise the grief and uncertainty of families left behind, with no clear state mechanism in place to protect them.