Online scams in Romania double, victims lose money A surge in internet fraud has cost Romanian citizens tens of thousands of lei. According to the Romanian Police, one in three complaints of fraud last year involved the online environment, and the number of such cases has doubled in the past four years. A woman named Cristina lost an unspecified amount after receiving a WhatsApp request from a friend who had been compromised; the attacker used a fake “vote here” link to hijack the account. She found that six of her contacts had also fallen victim. Another victim, known only as Cristi, lost 200 lei when he attempted to buy a concert ticket from an unverified seller and was blocked after payment. In 2025, more than a third of reported frauds were carried out digitally, and globally only 7 % of victims recover their money. The National Cyber Security Directorate warns that WhatsApp accounts are increasingly targeted. Police spokesperson Bogdan Ghebaur said that about 34 000 fraud reports were received, of which 12 000 were online. Investigations are underway into call‑center networks operating in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

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