A 45-year-old woman accused of defrauding families affected by Albania’s 2019 earthquake allegedly posed as a government official and promised victims new apartments or compensation in exchange for large sums of money, according to Tirana police.
Police said on August 27 that Ina Cakaj had been identified following an investigation by the Economic Crime Investigation Sector. Authorities allege that she targeted families in the Fushë-Krujë area, taking between €1,000 and €10,000 by promising to help them obtain housing or financial compensation.
A newly published audio recording by Albanian outlet JOQ Albania appears to capture a woman identified as Cakaj speaking with one of the residents she allegedly targeted.
In the recording, the woman reportedly introduces herself as an adviser to Prime Minister Edi Rama and refers to a…
Cyber fraud uses technology as the primary weapon. It is highly scalable and can be conducted from anywhere in the world.
- Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: Using deceptive emails (phishing), text messages (smishing), or phone calls (vishing) to trick victims into clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive data.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): A high-value scam where a criminal impersonates a CEO or high-level executive via a “spoofed” email address to trick a staff member into making an urgent, unauthorized wire transfer.