According to police, unidentified individuals are sending fraudulent messages containing fake links that urge recipients to update banking information or verify their accounts. Once victims click the links and submit personal or financial data, scammers gain access to their bank accounts, often withdrawing significant amounts of money.

The police emphasized that no legitimate bank or government institution requests sensitive information – such as card numbers, PINs, or login credentials – via SMS or suspicious links.

Authorities urged citizens to avoid clicking on unknown links, refrain from submitting personal or banking data via unverified sources, verify such requests directly with the relevant institution, report any suspicious activity immediately to the Cybercrime Unit.

The State Police said it is closely cooperating with financial institutions and international partners to identify and prosecute those responsible.

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The Bank of Albania said a day ago that total number of bank accounts stood at 3.5 million at the end of 2024, recording a 6.7% year-on-year increase.

According to central bank, number of active bank accounts expanded with an addition of over 218,000 accounts last year.

Individual and business accounts – resident or non-resident – experienced growth in 2024.

According to BoA, personal bank accounts increased by 5%, whereas business accounts were estimated at over 292 000.

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Pursuant to the law, every pensioner wishing to transfer their pension payment to a bank or every individual from the social categories has the right to open a bank account with zero maintenance fees.

“Banks will provide all the services at a zero fee despite the number of transactions carried out for these social categories. However, opening a bank account is not mandatory,” the law stipulates.

The new law on basic accounts defines the categories that benefit from reduced or zero-fee services, as well as the option of transferring the account from a normal account to a basic bank account.

Zero tariffs will also be applied to opening and closing the bank accounts, ATM cash withdrawal, payment transactions via a bank card, including online payments, credit transfers etc.

The Bank of Albania experts say that the initiative represents another step towards digitalization and cash reduction.

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Central bank said that number of active ban accounts in the country expanded by 91,000 new accounts last year, adding that number of bank accounts expanded for all categories, namely individuals, businesses, residents and non-residents.

In the meantime, the number of individuals with bank accounts grew by 3.1% or by around 225,000 new accounts to 2.78 million.

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According to the official data of the Bank of Albania, the total number of active bank accounts at the end of last year reached about 2.96 million.

The Bank of Albania objective is to avoid the preliminary expenses of opening a bank account and the mandatory monthly or annual maintenance fees.

The basic payment account will have a zero or symbolic cost and is seen as an important instrument to increase the use of banking services by individuals and small businesses. //a.i/