Romanian Police warn of SMS scam impersonating authorities to collect fake fines
The Romanian Police issued a warning on Sunday about a new online fraud campaign in which scammers send SMS messages posing as the police and demanding immediate payment for fake traffic fines, threatening penalties and account blocks.
Scam mechanics
The fraud campaign, which the police describe as a classic "Government Impersonation Scam", uses SMS or messaging app messages that appear to come from "Poliția Română". The messages inform recipients of a supposed fine for speeding, and in some variants, a parking fine that later reveals an unpaid speeding penalty on a cloned website.
In this campaign, victims receive SMS or messaging app messages that appear to come from 'Poliția Română' and inform them of an alleged fine for speeding. The messages impose a very short deadline for payment, accompanied by threats of penalties, enforcement, blocking of bank accounts, inability to carry out the periodic technical inspection, transfer of ownership or renewal of vehicle insurance, etc. The perpetrators exploit the public's trust in state institutions and create a sense of urgency to make the victim act without verifying the authenticity of the message.
The police also posted a video on TikTok explaining the trick: a link in the message leads to a clone platform that mimics an official site. Once accessed, it displays an unpaid speeding fine, even if the original message mentioned a parking violation.
The link received in such a message will take you to a clone platform. It looks like the official one, but the difference is that it belongs to a phantom site. If you access it, it will then show that you have an unpaid fine for speeding, even though the initial message was for parking.
Police warning and official stance
The Inspectorate General of the Romanian Police (IGPR) said that in recent weeks authorities have received a significant number of complaints about fraudulent messages abusing the identity of the Romanian Police and other public institutions. The warning was issued on Sunday, 2 August 2026, through a press release and social media channels.
The IGPR stressed that state institutions never transmit fines via SMS or messaging applications together with direct links for payment. Citizens are advised to ignore such messages entirely and never click on the links they contain.
Red flags and prevention
To help the public identify fraudulent messages, the police listed several warning signs: the message creates urgent pressure to act immediately, it contains a link for payment, it asks for personal or banking data, and the sender appears to be an official institution. Domain names that resemble official ones but use extensions such as.cc,.top or.vip are a clear indicator of a fraud attempt.
Instead of following links, any payment obligations should be verified exclusively through official platforms. The police specifically recommend accessing ghiseul.ro by manually typing the address into the browser, without using any link received in a message. They also advise against entering personal data, passwords or bank card information on any site reached through such links.
If you have been targeted
For those who have already entered bank card details on a fraudulent site, the police recommend contacting the issuing bank immediately to block the card and monitor transactions. Victims are also encouraged to report the fraud attempt to the competent authorities to help prevent further cases. The police further advised drivers to park only in authorized areas to avoid being tricked by fake parking fines in the future.
