On 2 July, Parliament adopted a decision on the report of the inquiry commission into phone scams. The press wrote that a National Anti-Fraud Focal Point had been “established”. We read the text of the decision in the state registry. Article 1 says something else: “Takes note of the report of the Commission of Inquiry”.
Nothing has been established, for now. Everything has been recommended — and the government has a deadline.
What the decision actually says
Parliament Decision no. 131 of 2 July 2026 was published in the Official Gazette on 10 July. It has six articles and is signed by the Speaker of Parliament, Igor Grosu.
- Article 1: “Takes note of the report of the Commission of Inquiry”.
- Article 3: the authorities “shall undertake the measures necessary to implement the recommendations”.
- Article 4: the government shall present Parliament with a report within 90 days of entry into force. The decision entered into force on 2 July, so the deadline falls on 30 September 2026.
- Article 6: oversight of implementation rests with the Committee on National Security.
The difference between “is established” and “takes note of” is not a nicety of legal language. It is the difference between an institution that exists and one that is on paper.
What the Focal Point would do
The commission — 11 MPs, chaired by Lilian Carp, set up on 4 June — recommends a single coordination centre, permanent and operating in real time, bringing together the Interior Ministry, the intelligence service, the prosecution service, the police, the National Bank, the commercial banks, the telecom operators and the regulator.
The powers proposed: real-time information sharing, the immediate blocking of fraudulent numbers, the mandatory implementation of anti-spoofing systems, and a single rapid public-alert mechanism.
Also on the list: harsher penalties, the regulation of virtual assets, ending the anonymity of prepaid SIM card activation, information campaigns targeted at older people, and equipping prisons with radio-blocking devices.
The two laws that would change something are still in first reading
Here is the part worth knowing before you feel protected.
The SIM card with an ID document. The bill that would end the anonymity of prepaid cards was registered on 17 June, by the government. As of 14 July, its status is first reading. Being an organic law, it needs two. And if adopted, it enters into force 12 months after publication and does not apply retroactively to cards already active.
Translated: the measure the commission recommends today will protect nobody before the second half of 2027.
Blocking calls with a spoofed number. The bill registered on 11 June, which would oblige operators to detect and block calls whose displayed number has been falsified, is likewise in first reading.
Why “mandatory” is the key word in anti-spoofing
The number that appears on your phone’s screen can be faked. It is called CLI spoofing, and with calls made over the internet it has become available to anyone: the scammer can display your bank’s number.
The regulator — which, since 1 January 2026, is no longer called ANRCETI but ARCOM — has approved a guide to combating the practice, aligned with the international STIR/SHAKEN standard, in force since 29 January.
A guide. Of recommendations. Not an obligation.
That is precisely why the commission calls for the mandatory implementation of anti-spoofing, and why the bill proposes fines. The guide itself records that 2.4 million fraudulent calls were received in 2024 — 149.5% more than in 2023.
What the fraud looks like, in figures
Over 95% of scams rely on social engineering — that is, on persuading the victim, not on breaking into any system. The number of cases rose by 21.7% in the first five months of 2026, and the damage reached a record of some 272 million lei in 2025.
The typologies, with case numbers for January–May 2026:
| The scheme | Cases |
|---|---|
| The fake “bank security” call — “the bank” rings, says there is a suspicious transfer, asks for codes | 515 |
| Fake investments — increasingly with the cloned face and voice of a public figure | 310 |
| A fake contract update — your “operator” asks you to confirm your details | 230 |
The police are handling 754 phone-fraud cases.
What already works: 112
Of all the figures in this file, one is genuinely useful: over 80% of the attempts reported to 112 were foiled.
Not in two years’ time. Now.
The golden rule, as the police put it: a bank or a state institution never asks over the phone for SMS codes, a PIN, a CVV or card details. Whoever asks for them is a criminal.
If you get such a call:
- Hang up. Do not call back the number displayed — it can be faked.
- Call 112.
- Call your bank — on the number on the back of your card or from the official website, never the one given to you over the phone — and block the card.
- File a complaint with the police.
And one honest caveat: at the hearings in Parliament, participants explicitly asked for “faster procedures for freezing suspicious funds”. Which means that, today, stopping the money is not instantaneous. That is exactly what the Focal Point is meant to fix — the one that does not yet exist.
The clock started on 2 July
The government has 90 days to report to Parliament on what it has done with the recommendations. The deadline falls on 30 September 2026.
Until then, a prepaid SIM card is still activated without an ID document, and anti-spoofing remains a recommendation.