Romanian authorities warn of surge in financial scams targeting citizens

The National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) has issued an alert about a new wave of online fraud in Romania that uses fake traffic‑fine notifications. SMS messages appear to come from the official platform Ghiseul.ro, directing recipients to a counterfeit website where they are asked to enter vehicle registration details and pay an alleged fine, often around 712 lei. The site then harvests personal and banking data.

Separate scams target seniors through crypto‑ATM (self‑pay) machines. Fraudsters call victims, pose as investment agents or police, and instruct them to insert cash into a Bitcoin kiosk, where the funds are instantly transferred to the criminals’ crypto wallet. They also impersonate relatives in urgent medical‑need ploys.

The Ministry of Justice warned that callers are also posing as employees of Nova Post and falsely claim to deliver official correspondence, urging victims not to share personal data.

In a related international operation, the FBI and Google, together with US authorities, dismantled the NetNut proxy‑botnet that had compromised millions of home devices—including smart TVs and streaming boxes—and was used to route illicit traffic and steal credentials. The takedown aims to protect remote workers and other internet users from similar threats.

Authorities advise the public to avoid clicking links in unsolicited messages, verify any fines directly on official sites, never share personal or banking information with unknown callers, and report fraud attempts to the DNSC hotline (1911).