One Click, Money Gone: Albania Battles Spike in Cyber Fraud

It all started with a text message in May. Gentjana Driza was waiting for a delivery from e-commerce marketplace Temu when she received a message apparently from Albania Post, telling her to pay a small customs fee. The message contained a link. Driza clicked on it and was taken to a series of forms. According to her complaint to the police, she believed the request genuinely came from Albania Post, so she followed the instructions and entered her personal and banking details. She soon realised she had been scammed. Notifications began appearing on her banking app showing substantial transfers from her account. The transactions continued even after she contacted her bank and blocked her card. Over the next three days, around 100,000 lek (1,085 euros) was taken from Driza’s account. The exact amount remained unclear, as transactions continued to be processed. Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us