– Telephone spoofing is often used for this purpose, that is, a popular fraud involving the caller impersonating other numbers in order to then call victims from them and pretend to be someone else. Using specific technological solutions, the caller can manually enter the number that is to be displayed to the recipient of the call as the caller’s number – explains junior constable Przemysław Ratajczyk from the press team of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław.

Such a fraud recently occurred in the capital of Lower Silesia. Spokesperson:

An unknown man called a 75-year-old Wrocław resident’s landline, claiming to be an employee of the bank’s security department and asking whether he had made a transfer. The victim replied that he had not, and the conversation ended there.

But that was not the end. About an hour later, another person called the senior citizen. This person claimed that someone had hacked into the Wrocław resident’s account and that he had to transfer his money to a secure bank account.

Junior constable Przemysław Ratajczyk: “Convinced that he was protecting his savings from criminals, the 75-year-old made a dozen or so transactions totalling more than PLN 360,000!”

The truth came to light the following day. Concerned, the senior citizen called his bank’s helpline and learned that he had fallen victim to fraudsters.

The officers warn:

Let us remember that we must remain vigilant, especially when our money and sensitive data are involved.

How can you avoid being robbed?

  • Whenever we are asked to make a transaction from our bank account, provide account login details or cash to someone we do not personally know, it may be a fraud. In such a situation, we should absolutely try to verify the credibility of the person calling or contacting us in another way – via SMS, an online messenger or email. It is worth thinking twice and carefully checking everything before carrying out an action requested by the voice on the phone, so as not to lose our life savings.
  • Under no circumstances should we give the login and password for online banking or payment card details to anyone whose identity we are not one hundred percent certain of. This is confidential information and should only be held by its user. No one has the right to demand that we provide it. A genuine bank representative will never ask for it.
  • Even if we have been informed of a potential threat, such as a hacker attack on our bank account, we should calmly consider whether the funds held in the account really may be in danger or whether we may be speaking to a fraudster. We must always be aware that the displayed telephone number or bank name is no guarantee that we are speaking to a genuine representative of that institution.
  • Read text messages and emails from purported couriers, mobile network operators or other companies carefully. Remember not to open links sent to us, disclose BLIK codes or payment and credit card details. Spending a few minutes checking the credibility of the caller, SMS sender, email or link, and verifying the authenticity of the content they contain, may protect us from losing our money.