So far, a significant proportion of people harmed by scammers have been elderly, but recently such cases have increasingly involved younger people. One such person was a 34-year-old resident of Oleśnica, who lost more than PLN 76,000 as a result of criminals’ actions.
A 34-year-old man reported to the Oleśnica Police unit and stated that he had been contacted by telephone by an employee of the Credit Information Bureau. During the conversation, the caller asked whether he was applying for a cash loan. When the man denied this, the alleged bank employee asked whether he had lost his identity card or shared his personal data with unauthorized people. After a brief conversation, the person hung up and thanked him for the information.
A short while later, another person called the resident of Oleśnica County from a different number, introducing himself as an employee responsible for bank security. During the conversation, he told the victim that it would be best to “zero out his creditworthiness” and that the way to do this was to create a second, so-called “reserve” account. He then provided the address of a website where such an account could be opened. The 34-year-old opened the website and entered the login and password provided by the caller. The bank’s logo and the words “reserve account” then appeared on the screen.
The man claiming to be a bank employee remained on the phone with the victim throughout, giving him detailed instructions, including leading him to take out a loan and transfer the funds to the “reserve account”, from which he would be able to repay the liability, thereby having his “credit history reset to zero”. At the very end of the conversation, the resident of Oleśnica County heard that, because someone had attempted to use his personal data, a Police officer would contact him.
A short while later, the victim received another call, this time from the “Police station”, and heard that proceedings were being conducted concerning the theft of his personal data. The conversation with the “police officer” did not last long. Several minutes after the conversation with the “uniformed officer” ended, the man was called again by the “bank employee”. This time, he was told to go to his bank branch, take out a loan and deposit the borrowed amount into the “reserve” account number he had previously created, using the indicated cash deposit machine. The instructions were followed by the person who reported the incident.
When the loan, amounting to more than PLN 76,000, was handed to the man in cash, he went to a cash deposit machine and, using BLIK codes provided during the telephone conversation, deposited the entire amount. After the transaction, the bank employee contacted the man several more times, confirming that everything had proceeded according to the procedures and that his loan would soon be repaid. The victim learned that he had been defrauded only the following day, when he established at his bank that the loan had not been repaid.
Remember! The scenario of attacks using telephone spoofing is usually the same, or at least similar. The scammer tries to frighten the person on the other end so that they act under the influence of emotions, most often informing them of an alleged break-in to their bank account and the need to take immediate action to block the intruders. The bank’s helpline number usually appears on the phone, so the call does not arouse suspicion. Any telephone request to send money or provide bank account details or a mobile payment system code should be treated as an attempted fraud.
We urge you to exercise caution and good judgment during telephone conversations with strangers. Remember that scammers manipulate conversations to obtain as much information as possible. Therefore, when dealing with strangers, always follow the principle of limited trust. Hang up and contact your bank’s consultant to verify whether the caller really is who they claim to be. You can also visit a branch in person to dispel any doubts. Following a few rules will ensure that we do not lose our savings.