Bulgaria Scams: Tourist, Online & Investment Fraud Guide
Common scams in Bulgaria including Black Sea resort overcharging, online investment fraud and phishing, with official reporting channels.
Emergency number: 112 — verify on official sources.
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
Bulgaria attracts millions of tourists to its Black Sea resorts and ski slopes, and the resort strips of Sunny Beach and Golden Sands have a long-documented scam repertoire: bars presenting inflated or unitemised bills backed by aggressive security, unlicensed taxis with rigged meters working the airports and hotel rows, street money-changers and dubious exchange booths whose headline rate hides a punitive 'commission', and fake or double-booked apartment listings for the summer season. Ski resorts see the same patterns compressed into winter, plus rental-equipment damage claims.
For residents, the highest-loss fraud is the telephone scam aimed at older Bulgarians — callers impersonating police officers or doctors who claim a relative caused an accident and send a courier to collect 'bail' cash, a pattern so entrenched that police run recurring awareness campaigns. Alongside it sit phishing waves impersonating UniCredit Bulbank, DSK and Fibank, parcel-fee smishing in Bulgarian, marketplace fraud on classified sites, and investment scams — a bitter irony given that Bulgaria and neighbouring countries have repeatedly been identified as bases for the multilingual boiler-room call centres that run fake trading platforms across Europe.
The cybercrime.bg platform (Ministry of Interior) is the primary online reporting portal, and the Commission for Consumer Protection (KZP) handles consumer complaints. When money has moved, the bank call comes first; everything else can wait twenty minutes.
Common scams
- Investment and crypto fraud via online platforms
- Phishing targeting Bulgarian banks (UniCredit Bulbank, DSK, Fibank)
- Tourist overcharging at Black Sea resorts and ski areas
- Online marketplace non-delivery fraud
Tourist-specific scams
- Restaurant overcharging and non-itemised bills in resort areas
- Unofficial taxis at Sofia airport and tourist hotspots charging inflated fares
- Counterfeit goods and fake designer items
- Rigged casino games at some Black Sea resort venues
Online shopping scams
- Phishing SMS and emails impersonating Bulgarian banks
- Fake online shopping sites with no delivery
- Social media investment ads for fraudulent trading platforms
Job scams
- Fake hospitality and seasonal job ads requiring advance fees
- Online task scams paying small amounts before demanding deposits
- Fake overseas work placements charging for 'visa processing' and transport
Romance scams
- Dating-app grooming leading to investment requests
- Social media romance fraud targeting residents and foreigners
- Pig-butchering relationships funnelling victims onto fake trading apps
Investment scams
- Fake forex and crypto trading platforms advertising heavily online
- Ponzi schemes disguised as high-yield investment opportunities
- Boiler-room 'account managers' pressing victims into repeated deposits by phone
How to report a scam here
- Contact your bank immediately if money has been transferred fraudulently
- Report cybercrime via the official portal cybercrime.bg (Ministry of Interior)
- Report consumer fraud to the Commission for Consumer Protection at kzp.bg
- For urgent matters, contact the Ministry of Interior (mvr.bg) or call 112
Local reporting & protection links
Always verify reporting routes and emergency contacts on the official government or agency website for your country.
Bank & payment guidance
Speed matters more than anything else here, so contact your bank straight away on the number printed on your card or shown in its official app. Say clearly that you were deceived into making the payment, ask for it to be stopped or recalled, ask for the receiving account to be reported, and write down the reference number. Ask about freezing or replacing the card if details were shared, and pursue a chargeback for card payments to resort bars, fake shops or 'brokers'. If cash was handed to a courier in a police-impersonation scam, report to the police immediately — couriers are sometimes intercepted on the same day. Afterwards report the cybercrime at cybercrime.bg and any consumer side of it to the Commission for Consumer Protection at kzp.bg; foreign visitors should also alert their home bank and card issuer.
Evidence to preserve
- Screenshot all messages, profiles, websites and payment pages
- Save transaction references, account numbers and crypto wallet addresses
- Keep emails with full headers where possible
- Note dates, times, names and phone numbers used
Frequently asked questions
What is cybercrime.bg in Bulgaria?
Cybercrime.bg is the official cybercrime reporting and awareness platform managed by the cybercrime division of the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDCOC) within the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior. It has been operating for over 10 years and allows the public to report online crimes.
What is the 'phone scam' targeting older people in Bulgaria?
Callers impersonate police officers or doctors and claim a relative has caused a road accident, demanding cash or valuables to 'settle' the matter, collected by a courier within the hour. It is one of Bulgaria's most persistent frauds. Real police never collect money, and the correct response is to hang up and call the relative or the police directly.
How do I avoid money-changing scams in Bulgaria?
Skip street changers entirely and check the effective rate — including any 'commission' line in small print — before handing money to an exchange booth. Bank branches and ATMs drawing on your own account give the fewest surprises; if using ATMs, decline dynamic currency conversion and let your card settle in leva.
Sources
- National police and cybercrime portals (verify on official sites)
- FTC / Action Fraud / Scamwatch consumer guidance