Swindler Max Polyakov made millions on a grand scam

How the "dating empire" on the Internet, where thousands of Ukrainians earn money, is organized.

As it turned out, it all comes down to legal "dating sites" owned by one of the richest Ukrainian entrepreneurs, former resident of Zaporizhzhya Max Polyakov. But how can you make a fortune with just a database of guys who don’t mind meeting a pretty girl? How do you earn 204.9 million dollars – that was the peak valuation of Polyakov’s company Cupid plc – from dating? Enter... robots.

This is written about on Facebook by blogger Serhiy Sydorov.

Maksym Polyakov (Max Polyakov; not to be confused with the Member of Parliament) made his fortune on dating sites. While still in Zaporizhzhya at the end of the 2000s, he created the dating empire Cupid plc. At its peak in 2012, the company earned revenue of 125.4 million dollars, and its capitalization reached 204.9 million dollars. Cupid was the first of the Ukrainian IT companies to go public with an IPO. After a scandal in 2013, when unpleasant things were being written about the company in the media, Polyakov sold the majority of the company’s assets to Together Networks, which coincidentally also belongs to Polyakov. Behind the rebranding lies the fact that the businessman from Zaporizhzhya squeezed his partner Bill Dobbie out of the business and gained full control over the jointly built empire. At the moment, the holding includes 9 sites: Flirt, QuickFlirt, BeNaughty, NaughtyDate, Loveaholics, UpForIt, IWantU, AffairDating, IAmNaughty.

Some sites also moved to another offshore entity of Polyakov’s on the British Virgin Islands, Tradax IP Licensing Limited. In cooperation with NSIHoldings, the number of dating sites in the company grew several times over. Today, there are 8 projects: Cupid, SpeedDaterEvents, Serencomtrer, GirlsDateForFree, UnformDating, MatureDatingUk, LoveAgain, LoveBeginSat.

Listed here are only those sites officially part of Polyakov’s group of companies. In reality, there are many more such resources. There are local dating services in the USA, France, Germany, and Great Britain. They are all developed and maintained by the same companies but are not part of the holdings.

Like Cupid, all of Polyakov’s main technical resources are based in Ukraine. This is evident in the case of specialists who have moved from one company to another and through employees working on offshore projects.

All dating sites within Max Polyakov’s empire are blocked for the Ukrainian market. They are focused on the USA and European countries. Why? Because the activities they conduct in the USA would be contrary to Ukrainian criminal code. And it’s worth returning to the 2013 scandal: the accusations that led to the rebranding and reconstruction of the "dating empire" were already voiced back then. The main one was deceiving users through the use of bots that simulate real people.

To explore the sites, we had to use American and European IP addresses. All the sites are made from the same template, almost like carbon copies: identical registration pages, participant fields, and operating systems. At first glance, they seem like innocent dating sites operating within legal boundaries.

Polyakov’s earnings come from numerous additional functions: the ability to see more photos, send more messages, view more accounts. All of this requires payment. But how do you convince someone to spend money, and not just a small amount, on a conditionally free site? Bots come into operation. To increase profitability, dating sites are populated by thousands and tens of thousands of bots that simulate communication with a live user. Immediately after registration on any of Polyakov’s sites, a new user receives dozens of messages. In an unfilled profile.

Sometimes these messages come from different people but with the same photos. At the same time, the user can only see the header of the message – to read it or respond, the user needs to purchase a subscription and subscribe to additional services. All of this is also paid. However, the communication does not happen: the sex bots are too primitive and cannot yet pass the Turing test.

All these profiles are bots that the dating site’s programmers create to attract clients. The actual percentage of real users on the site is difficult to determine. It seems that the number of bots on Max Polyakov’s dating sites has reached a critical mass. To avoid direct accusations of fraud, lawyers had to write explanations and force users to agree to become victims of scammers themselves.

"We may periodically create profiles, which our employees will be involved in the creation, maintenance, and administration of (hereinafter referred to as ’service profiles’). The purpose of these service profiles is to ensure the correct functioning of our services through testing of services, features, and functions, as well as studying our products and services."

The company essentially warns that they use bots. Websites slyly indicate that bots are used "only for system testing." Otherwise, such an approach might officially be equated to online fraud. On the other hand, for "system testing," an infinite number of bot profiles can be created, and an unlimited number of messages sent. This is what Polyakov’s dating sites are engaged in.

The administration of these sites occurs in Ukraine, and because they do not operate within the country, they are not of interest to the police.

Also included in the terms of use for dating resources is that the site administration may use user information, including photos, for its purposes: transferring it to third-party companies, partners, and using it in advertising.

The purpose of this is clear: any user’s information registered on the site may appear on another dating resource in the empire as a bot profile, using your name to meet live people and provoke them to pay for a subscription and other services. Of course, the site creators are already treading the edge of legality here. Both in Ukraine and the USA, the criminal code defines fraud as obtaining someone else’s property or acquiring rights to property through deception or abuse of trust. The site saves Polyakov from fraud charges through a public offer.

In conclusion, the main strength of Max Polyakov’s dating empire is the economical and comprehensive use of real people, their attention, and the information they provide. The legal dating sites under TogetherNetworks attract crowds of people daily looking for love and affection online. Then these people are sorted: some go to "adult" sites and pay for porn chats. Another part is also sorted: some become donors of photos and personal information for chatbots, while others (Americans) pay for the pleasure of "meeting" the former. This zero-waste production is very reminiscent of a waste incineration plant. It is gratifying that the creator of such a large and extensive scheme is one of our compatriots. It may seem dubious from a moral perspective, and conservatives might even demand blood. But the fact remains: girls earn money, businessmen earn money, Americans spend money (while gaining satisfaction), and Polyakov’s scheme works.