Balkans consumer fraud alerts

In late July 2026, consumer protection agencies across the Balkans began highlighting a wave of new scams and hazardous products. The first report detailed a range of incidents: a Serbian wood‑work fraud case, OTP Bank’s warning about fake SMS banking messages, health alerts in Croatia and Bosnia over unregulated peptide weight‑loss products and high‑dose green‑tea‑extract supplements, concerns about an AI‑driven “beauty score” trend on Twitch, simple PIN‑code vulnerabilities in Bosnia, and the abuse of WhatsApp’s linked‑device feature for spying.

A few days later, Croatian police issued additional cautions, focusing on phone‑based impersonations that targeted seniors—such as a call masquerading as a deceased mother—and a rise in fraudulent investment offers that duped an elderly woman. The follow‑up warning underscored the continued expansion of scams, urging the public to verify financial platforms, avoid sharing personal details, and report suspicious contacts.

Together, the reports show a widening scope of consumer‑protection alerts in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia, moving from a broad catalogue of fraud types and unsafe products to more targeted phone and investment scams, especially affecting older citizens.