Bosnia and Herzegovina police warn of AI-driven online fraud surge
Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federal Police warned of a sharp increase in AI-driven online fraud schemes targeting citizens and businesses, including voice-clone calls, deepfake impersonations, BEC attacks, fake investment schemes, and ransomware attacks. The warning details various fraud techniques using artificial intelligence and social engineering that have caused financial losses and data theft.
What happened
The Federalna uprava policije (Federal Police Administration), through its Department for Combating Computer Crime, issued an urgent warning on 19 May 2026 about a drastic rise in sophisticated online fraud schemes targeting citizens and legal entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Attackers employ advanced social engineering techniques and artificial intelligence, including voice cloning and deepfake technology, to inflict substantial financial harm and steal personal data. Reported fraud schemes include Business Email Compromise (BEC) targeting companies making international payments, fake investment and cryptocurrency schemes promising 100% or higher returns, pump-and-dump cryptocurrency manipulation, AI-generated voice-clone calls impersonating directors or family members requesting urgent money transfers, phishing emails, SMS smishing messages with malicious links, vishing calls pretending to be Microsoft technical support, ransomware attacks through infected email attachments, and sextortion threats using AI-generated fake material based on photos from social networks.
Reported impact
Victims of BEC schemes typically discover frauds only after several weeks when unauthorized payments to criminal accounts have been processed. In fake investment scams, victims are lured with guaranteed high returns on professional-looking websites displaying fictional growth, then requested for additional payments for 'taxes' or 'commissions' until accounts are depleted.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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