Cyber fraud targets Moldovans: 140M lei lost
Last year, Moldovans lost 140 million lei to bank card fraud. Data from the National Investigation Inspectorate shows that around a thousand cases of citizens being swindled by fraudsters were reported.
A truck driver, who had worked abroad for many years, fell victim to a major scam. Through this deception, the man lost 6 million lei.
"Initially, I believe he only invested these funds for about half a year; later, they manipulated him into trying to withdraw them. For various reasons, they'd tell him, 'Next month, to withdraw, you'll need to pay a commission,'" explains Anastasia Petco, section head of the Center for Combating Cybercrime.
When he went to the bank to withdraw his money, the man received devastating news: "The company doesn't exist, and his account is empty." Only then did he realize he had been scammed and filed a complaint with the police.
"Typically, the victims of these types of crimes are individuals with very little knowledge in finance and information technology. We're talking about the elderly because they often have savings, and they are psychologically manipulated, promising they'll make money and buy apartments for their grandchildren," notes Anastasia Petco.
To avoid falling into fraudsters' traps, law enforcement officials offer a series of recommendations. First, personal data, including bank card details, are confidential and must not be shared under any circumstances with unknown individuals, especially online. People are urged to be cautious regarding incoming calls – banks don't contact clients through social media or messaging platforms. And if they choose to invest money, economists recommend regulated financial instruments and markets supervised by competent authorities.
DUMITRU PÎNTEA, ECONOMIST:
"In the Republic of Moldova, the banking sector is supervised and regulated by the National Bank. So, when we interact with banking services, loans, deposits, and other types of capital market financial instruments, these are regulated and supervised by the National Financial Market Commission. We recommend that individuals, when they want to invest, first check if the entity offering those instruments – for example, a website that aggressively promotes certain investments – is regulated by the National Financial Market Commission."
In the first three months of 2025, approximately 250 criminal cases were registered regarding the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from bank cards, with damages totaling around 40 million lei to the victims.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
