Negotino resident defrauded of 26,908 denars in SMS traffic-fine scam
Police in Veles reported that a Negotino resident lost 26,908 denars after following payment instructions in a fake traffic-fine SMS.
A 44-year-old resident of Negotino reported that he was defrauded of 26,908 denars after responding to an SMS claiming he had committed a traffic violation, the Sector for Internal Affairs Veles said.
The man filed the complaint at the Basic Police Station Negotino yesterday at 14:50, reporting a loss of 26,908 denars. He received a text message about an alleged traffic offense that included payment instructions for a fine of 920 denars, which was presented with a 50 percent discount and shown as 460 denars.
Following the instructions in the message, he initiated a payment using his wife’s bank card. He received a confirmation SMS about a successful transaction, and shortly afterwards another message arrived.
When he checked his account balance, he realized that a much larger amount had been withdrawn and that he had been scammed.
Police from the Sector for Internal Affairs Veles said measures have been taken to clarify the incident and the case is under investigation.
No additional details about suspects or the exact method used to withdraw the funds were released by the authorities.
Photo: press material from the event
