A new fraud scheme with cheap public transport cards has been detected again in Ruse. A social media offer is spreading for a six-month card for all city bus lines at a price of just 3.81 leva - a sum lower than three single-trip tickets. The suspiciously advantageous deal is a new attempt to abuse citizens' trust.
This is not the first such case - the same scheme was detected in May and is repeated with the same tactics: a fake link lures users to provide their personal data. "Once again, a six-month card for the entire city network is offered at a suspiciously low amount, which is less than the price of three single-trip tickets. This cannot be a real deal," commented Alexander Georgiev, manager of Municipal Transport.
He added: "People are looking for impulsive deals. I suppose scammers see an opportunity for quick and easy profit precisely in this segment". Although there have been no reports of citizens being harmed so far, Municipal Transport has reacted immediately - warnings have been published on social networks and official channels, reminding of legitimate ways to purchase cards - only from drivers and the card center at 45 Gen. Skobelev Blvd.
Official institutions appeal to Ruse citizens to be vigilant and not provide personal data to suspicious pages like "Public Transport in Ruse" or other unofficial sources. "Municipal Transport Ruse" EAD insists on using only the website, Facebook page, and physical card center for reliable information.
Similar schemes with cheap and "free" cards appear periodically in other Bulgarian cities, but citizens are warned not to succumb to such offers and to inform competent authorities if they suspect fraud.