The State Police has issued a warning over a new wave of cyber scams involving fraudulent text messages, known as “smishing”, in which criminals impersonate public institutions to obtain citizens’ personal and banking information.

The Municipality of Tirana, the General Directorate of Road Transport Services (DPSHTRR), and Albanian Post are among the institutions whose names are being fraudulently used in these campaigns. Citizens receive messages claiming they have unpaid parking fees or traffic fines, or that they need to update their postal address to receive a package.

According to the State Police, the messages contain links directing users to fake websites designed to look like official institutional platforms. The aim is to trick citizens into entering sensitive financial information, including bank card numbers, expiration dates, CVV/CVC security codes and verification codes.

Authorities warn that this information can be used to carry out unauthorized transactions and withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts.

Criminals often create a sense of urgency by referring to unpaid obligations, short payment deadlines or problems with postal deliveries, encouraging recipients to act without checking whether the messages are legitimate.

The State Police is urging citizens not to click on suspicious links received via SMS, not to enter banking details or verification codes on unfamiliar websites, and to verify any notifications regarding fines, payments or public services exclusively through official institutional channels.

The Directorate for the Investigation of Cybercrime says these latest campaigns follow previous cases in which fraudsters impersonated banking institutions to obtain citizens’ personal and financial data.

Authorities reiterate that citizens should remain vigilant and never share sensitive banking information through links received in unsolicited text messages.