Training alert: Russians have become more likely to be deceived with the purchase of online courses

In 2025, Russians were more likely to become victims of fraud when purchasing franchises and online courses that promised rapid income growth. This was reported to Izvestia by law firms. The number of such complaints has increased by at least a third compared to last year. It is difficult to terminate the contract and return the money to those who are dissatisfied with the quality of training or who have bought an unprofitable business, experts confirm. How not to become a victim of unfair marketing is described in the Izvestia article.

Number of complaints about online courses and franchises

Last year, there was a significant increase in the number of people in Russia who were dissatisfied with the results of the purchase of franchises and online courses.

According to statistics from the Destra Legal legal service, the number of applications for online courses in 2025 increased to almost 950, which is about a third more than in 2024. Another 200 clients asked for help related to the purchase of a franchise, although only a few such disputes were recorded the year before last.

This trend is confirmed by the PravoPraktika analysis service. According to him, the number of applications for online courses has increased by 30% compared to last year. Elena Grin, Deputy Head of the Department of Intellectual Property Rights at Moscow State Law University (MGUA), told Izvestia about this. She also mentioned the number of applications for franchises — 750, but did not provide a comparison with 2024.

Marina Silvestri, CEO of Kalinov and Partners law firm, human rights activist, said that in 2025 they received more than 500 complaints related to fraud when buying online courses. In 2024, about 200 such cases were recorded.

— There is a steady trend towards an increase in the number of such cases. This is due to the fact that the number of schools and online courses is growing. As a rule, these can be expensive courses, costing over 100,000 rubles, or cheaper ones," said Marina Silvestri.

Veronika Polyakova, a criminal lawyer and managing partner of the Business Legal Group Bar Association, confirmed the increase in the number of such appeals.

"The distance learning market is developing rapidly, which attracts unscrupulous sellers," she said.

The expert emphasized that scammers use aggressive advertising with fake reviews, promising phenomenal success and quick results.

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What are the customers complaining about?

The subjects of franchise disputes were distributed as follows: about 54% of customers reported that the product did not comply with advertising promises, and about 36% of complaints related to attempts to terminate the contract, Destra Legal reported.

About 10% of the cases were related to legal disputes about collecting royalties (royalties for the right to use the brand) and fines from franchisors.

— Judicial conflicts in franchising have ceased to be an exception and are increasingly becoming systemic, — said Boris Feldman, Director of the Legal Affairs Service. — If earlier disputes between franchisors and franchisees arose sporadically, now they are becoming a regular element of the market, especially for chains with a history of more than two or three years.

According to him, in most cases, clients contacted three to six months after the business was launched, when it became obvious that there was a discrepancy between the stated franchise model and the actual working conditions. Some cases were completed at the pre—trial stage, while others turned into court proceedings, including disputes over brand rights and know-how.

The main subjects of disputes over online courses are non-fulfillment of contractual obligations, the absence or formal nature of feedback from supervisors and mentors, refusal to refund funds, and failure to fulfill employment promises, experts say.

There is an opinion among the organizers of online schools that the format of a digital product relieves them of responsibility, Boris Feldman believes.

"The judicial practice of recent years has completely destroyed this illusion: the usual consumer protection regulations apply to such services," he stressed.

According to him, sellers often ignore claims and refuse to refund funds, referring to internal rules, the licensing model of the contract or their own calculations of the costs incurred.

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How to protect yourself from unscrupulous sellers

The law "On Consumer Rights Protection" protects the interests of online course buyers, confirms Veronika Polyakova, a criminal defense lawyer. First of all, the ratio between the promised and actually rendered service is evaluated.

In order to reduce the number of deceptions, it is necessary to regulate this area at the legislative level, the lawyer believes.

— The status of online courses should be more clearly defined, and sites should check sellers more carefully, - Veronika Polyakova recommended. — Customers need to check the reputation of the course author, save screenshots of messages where promises are made, and pay for the service with a bank card so that they can later challenge the payment.

Bona fide sellers also suffer from the actions of scammers. They are losing their audience because low-quality online courses often sell better due to more aggressive marketing. And here the business should form a system of self-regulation with transparent quality standards, the lawyer believes.

Many people are afraid to seek help from lawyers, as they are afraid of running into scammers again, Marina Silvestri said. There are a lot of offers online, pseudo-experts promise to refund money for online courses, but usually it's the same pyramid scheme. People invest money, then they are told to pay for one thing, then for another, then for a third.

— One of my clients bought a course at a cheaper price, signed a contract, but there was a postscript — if you sign a contract, you automatically sign an act of completed work, — said the human rights activist.

In 2025, Izvestia reported how a Muscovite woman, trying to repay money for an online course, lost an additional 18 million rubles - she was deceived by pseudo—unionists.

The woman told Izvestia that when she tried to terminate the contract with the school due to dissatisfaction with the quality of their services, she was refused a refund. Then she asked for help, leaving a request on one of the websites that offered legal services for refunds for online courses.

To protect yourself from fraudsters, Marina Silvestri recommends that customers check the company's information. If the company's turnover is more than 150 thousand rubles, then it is obliged to register an LLC. Sole proprietors most often deal with smaller amounts. For example, one course costs 100 thousand rubles, and the other — 30 thousand rubles.

The expert stressed that most often people do not notice all the pitfalls. Therefore, before signing the contract, it is better to consult with a lawyer, as well as record a meeting with the seller on the phone.