For the safety of everyone, especially older people, an educational and preventive film was created by the ProPublika Foundation in cooperation with the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław. The film features, as its main narrator, the press spokesperson for the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław, Staff Warrant Officer Paweł Petrykowski.
Based on authentic conversations between criminals and their victims, the material exposes the methods of fraudsters who extort money by pretending to be family members or police officers. The film shows the criminals’ modus operandi, the methods they use and the weaknesses they exploit.
“Let’s remember that the principle of ‘limited trust’ toward strangers applies not only to children,” officers say. “Adults often forget about it, becoming victims of their own gullibility and lack of caution.”
Unexpected calls from people claiming to be police officers, long-unseen grandchildren, nieces or cousins do not have to end in financial loss if we follow two basic rules:
- a police officer will never call to inform you about an ongoing operation
- the police will never ask you to give money to someone, transfer it to an account or leave it somewhere!
Let’s not be deceived! Let’s discuss unusual situations that happen to us with other family members, and report any suspicious requests to borrow money to the police.