Directorate for Combating Organised Crime Reports First Euro-Related Cyber Fraud Attempt in Bulgaria

The General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP) has received the first signal of cyber fraud linked to Bulgaria’s planned introduction of the euro, senior commissioner Vladimir Dimitrov, head of the Cybercrime Department, confirmed on August 22.

“A few days ago, fraudsters contacted a Bulgarian victim through a widely used encrypted communication app. Their profile was linked to a phone number from an Asian country and carried the logo of the payment platform the victim was using. During the exchange, the victim was told that unless they transferred funds to a ‘service account’, their balance would be lost and they would no longer be able to use the app,” Dimitrov explained.

Deceived by the phishing message, the victim made several payments to a bank account provided by the scammers. Shortly afterwards, their app was compromised.

“The sum of BGN 10,000 was redirected by the fraudsters to cryptocurrency platforms, other online payment services, and utility bills,” Dimitrov added.

GDBOP urged citizens to remain vigilant about such schemes, particularly in the context of currency conversion related to the euro’s introduction.

“Currency conversion will only be carried out by the Bulgarian National Bank, commercial banks in Bulgaria, and Bulgarian Posts. Any SMS messages, app communications, or emails claiming otherwise are unequivocally fraudulent. There is a clear legal framework for the conversion process,” Dimitrov stressed.

Part of the victim’s lost funds will be recovered, investigators said, adding that the chat had been conducted in Bulgarian via automatic translation.