Fraudsters increasingly try to act in multiple stages, which means that the attempt to defraud does not end with a single phone call. It can be a coordinated effort of many people who use psychological techniques to first gain the victim’s trust and then extract as much money as possible. This was the case with the 46‑year‑old from Lesser Poland, who, despite his relatively young age, fell victim to fraudsters. Until now it seemed that the target of criminals were older people, but this example shows how everyone should be on guard. Especially when a phone rings and the caller is unknown.
46‑year‑old lost 60,000 PLN
A man from Kraków county reported to the police in Skawina, admitting that he had become a victim of a crime. He lost 60,000 PLN. How did this happen? The uniformed services warn about this case.
A phone call reached the resident of Kraków county. The caller posed as a bank employee. She asked if the man had taken a loan of 70,000 PLN. When he denied it, the woman claimed that his data had probably been stolen and that the money in his bank account was at risk. The fraudster informed him that to prevent the loss of funds, someone from the personal data protection department would contact him immediately. After a moment, the phone rang again, and following the instructions received earlier from the woman, the caller posed as an expert in data protection at the bank. She told the 46‑year‑old that he must cooperate with the police to save the money and help track down the criminals. After the call, another person claiming to be a cybercrime police officer from Warsaw contacted the man from Lesser Poland. He first asked how much money the 46‑year‑old had, then instructed him to go to the bank and withdraw the money. It was 60,000 PLN, which the Kraków county resident – following the earlier instructions of the person posing as the capital police officer – handed over in an envelope to an unknown person. As one can guess, it was a fraudster who vanished as quickly as he appeared.
The man soon realized he could have become a victim of fraud and went to the Skawina police station. Police are conducting operations to identify the criminals, but as one can guess, it will be extremely difficult, just like recovering the stolen money.
Poles’ naivety still amazes
Despite many examples in almost every media outlet, the appeal of the services for caution still leads many people to be deceived, causing them to lose life savings. The example of a resident from Lesser Poland shows that everyone should be at the station, not just older people, who may seem easier to trick.
The police remind of basic safety rules:
• stay calm and do not act under emotional influence,
• never give money to unknown people,
• do not provide personal data or information about your savings over the phone,
• if you receive a call from someone claiming to be a family member – hang up and contact them directly; you can set an alarm password used in various situations,
• remember that the police or prosecutor’s office never ask you to transfer money, do not collect cash from citizens, and never ask you to participate in “secret operations”.
See also: A resident of Lesser Poland lost 100,000 PLN. He wanted to invest in stocks, but became a victim of fraud
