President urges citizens to double-check before transferring money to scammers

President Maia Sandu warns that the number of phone and online fraud cases remains high and urges citizens to exercise "maximum vigilance" before transferring money or providing personal data.

At a TV show, the president said that although state institutions are stepping up public information about fraud, many people continue to fall into scammers’ traps.


"Citizens must be very careful when it comes to their money. They should think a hundred times, check a hundred times before giving this money to someone," Maia Sandu said.


The president called on people who are aware of the risks to discuss these schemes with family members, neighbors and relatives, especially with elderly people, who are more vulnerable to phone and online fraud.

According to the head of state, people should not make payments immediately after receiving suspicious calls or messages and should consult trusted persons before transferring money.


"If someone calls us and asks for money, we should say 'thank you, I will get back to you' and then consult with someone," Maia Sandu said.


The president warned that recently new scams have appeared in which people are asked to pay alleged fines for traffic violations.


"Do not make payments before checking several times that it is a correct account and not a scammer’s account," the head of state declared.


Maia Sandu stressed that the authorities cannot fully prevent such crimes, especially since many schemes are organized from abroad, which makes it difficult to recover the money and punish the perpetrators.


"The state will not be able to provide one hundred percent protection. It is very hard to recover the money," the president said.


The head of state mentioned that even people in her close circle and relatives have been contacted by scammers, but they avoided fraud because they checked the information before making any payments.

Recently, law enforcement bodies have been recording more and more phone fraud cases. Scammers use various false identities and present themselves as: employees of law enforcement institutions, representatives of banking institutions, SIS employees, inspectors of the State Tax Service, representatives of telecommunications companies, and couriers of postal services. The most frequent scam scenarios include: checking bank accounts, blocking fraud, protecting savings, and offering profitable investments.

In this context, law enforcement officers urge citizens not to share SMS codes or banking data and not to transfer money to unknown persons. It is important to verify information only from official sources, and in the case of a suspicious call – hang up immediately and contact the institution concerned.