Russian Web dating scams exposed

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- It sounds like a match made in heaven -- Western men meeting Russian women on the Internet.

But Russian police are warning that love online is a tempting target for criminals, and say it is only a matter of time before organised criminal groups start cashing in.

Anatoly Platonov, of the Russian Interior Ministry's Cyber Crime Division, told CNN: "In the West there are plenty of people who believe these sweet messages because they're written by professionals ... and not, as it turns out, by women."

Police have already broken up one scam after complaints from men in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

Two young computer criminals led Western men to believe they were in touch with young attractive Russian women through Internet sites.

The men used images of women who had nothing to do with the scam, and the passports and IDs shown on the site belonged to alleged female accomplices.

The 21-year-old computer wizard and his 19-year-old friend operated from a dilapidated apartment in the heartland of Russia, in Yoshkar-Oil, writing seemingly sincere messages saying: "I can't wait to see you. I'll even bake you your favourite meat pies."

It was not long before a request came saying: "Please send me money for my ticket and my visa."

The two men managed to net a total of $56,000 from their Western victims before they were caught by police.

Western men have now started a black list warning other men to look out for cyber scams.

This particular scam was run by amateurs, but Russian police now fear that organised criminal groups want to join in, using the brain power of young Russian computer experts to carry out their scams.