Since Monday, 9 March 2015, alarming reports have been reaching the facilities of the Małopolska Customs Service about sudden, unjustified payment demands sent to residents of various regions of the country.
Fraudsters are sending fake demands for payment of PLN 283.00—to the specified bank account—as penalties for purchasing illegal tobacco.
The letters identify the nonexistent Customs Office I in Krakow as the issuer of the demand. The account is fake and does not belong to the Customs Chamber in Krakow.
The Customs Chamber in Krakow provides the following telephone numbers: 12 62 90 587; 12 62 90 554; 502 726 213, which concerned individuals can use to report a sudden demand for payment and obtain complete information. Citizens may also contact the authorities about this matter by email: dyzurny.koordynator@kra.mofnet.gov.pl.
The Customs Service never asks citizens to pay any amount without first conducting appropriate customs, tax or fiscal criminal proceedings, in which, from the moment they are initiated, the citizen has the right to participate as a party.
A citizen’s obligation to pay a specified amount always results from a decision or order issued by an authority, a court judgment or a fine. In enforcement proceedings, reminders, enforcement titles or demands for payment of unpaid fines are issued. Properly issued documents of the above-mentioned types always contain a signature identifying the person representing the authority, along with that person’s function, position or official rank.
A sample of the fake payment demand is provided below:
Izba Celna Wrocław/ii