Croatian police have warned citizens to exercise caution when applying for loans advertised on social media after a 62-year-old woman reported being defrauded of more than €12,000 over two years.
According to the Krapina-Zagorje Police Department, the woman responded to an online advertisement in April 2023 offering a loan. She was subsequently contacted via email and social media messages by an unknown individual who repeatedly requested payments to multiple bank accounts in Croatia and other European countries for processing and approval fees.
The payments, made from April 2023 to December 2025, amounted to over €12,000, but the woman never received the promised loan. The perpetrator continued to request further payments, police said.
Authorities urged the public to be vigilant when pursuing loans via social media platforms. Key warning signs of fraud include links that appear to lead to legitimate company websites but request personal information, poorly constructed web pages with multiple spelling and grammatical errors, and requests for credit or debit card details, including CVC/CVV numbers.
Police also cautioned against sharing online banking credentials, one-time passwords, or other sensitive data. Fraudulent offers increasingly appear through messaging apps with phone numbers from foreign or domestic networks.
The incident underscores growing concerns about online financial scams in Croatia and Europe.