Cybercriminals in Romania are being closed in on by federal and U.S. authorities, according to media reports. Cybercrime has escalated over the past few years in the European country, officials said.

“Cybercrime has highly specialized and extremely dynamic networks,” an expert at the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI (News - Alert)) told the AFP on condition of anonymity.

Romanian and U.S. FBI agents are targeting cybercriminals both through computers and on the ground, the report said.

Citing figures issued by the Romanian police, more than 80 percent of online fraud originating from Romania targets U.S. nationals and companies, the AFP reported.

Internet crimes was the focus point of discussion during a visit last week to Romania by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, who met with president Traian Basescu, prosecutor general Laura Codruta Kovesi and heads of security authorities, including secret services (SRI, SIE) and the police, according to Business Review, a Romanian online news service

According to the report, U.S. authorities are working closely with Romanian counter-parts in fighting criminality networks specialized in phishing, credit card and ATM thefts, auction fraud, and other forms of cyber crime.

Last July, a joint operation of Romanian and U.S. authorities ended in the arrest of 90 people in Romania and 22 in the U.S., one of the biggest international cybercrime enforcement actions in history, the AFP said, citing figures issued by the Romanian FBI office.

The arrests brought the prejudices of more than $100 million to American citizens, Mueller said during a joint conference held together with SRI director George Maior.

“We have identified new sectors in which we should develop the dialogue and cooperation, mainly on the cyber intelligence component,” said Maior, adding that they should intensify cooperation also “in the combat of economic and financial crime, a phenomenon exacerbated by the global economic crisis.”

Previously, Maior and Mueller convened in 2006 when Mueller visited Romania and the two discussed bilateral cooperation in combating corruption, reducing cyber-crime and fighting against organized crime and terrorism.