On February 17, a woman reported a scam to one of the police stations in Lower Silesia. The 58-year-old received a message from an unknown phone number after 10:00 p.m. the previous day. It read: “Hi Mom, my phone is broken, new number. Text me now at (….)”. Of course, in place of (…) there was the name of a messaging app and the alleged daughter’s new phone number.
As it happened, the victim actually had a daughter who worked abroad. She therefore continued the text conversation. She learned from it that her daughter’s phone had fallen into the toilet and no longer worked. In addition, she was having problems with her banking app. The scammer convinced the 58-year-old to pay approximately PLN 3,000 for a new phone, and the money would be returned to her as soon as her daughter regained access to her funds.
After she transferred the requested amount, another message arrived, along with another request for money—this time for a laptop. At that point, the woman reporting the incident realized that she had probably fallen victim to a scammer and began asking questions that only her real daughter would know the answers to. The perpetrator did not reply again.
We once again remind you to treat every financial request made by phone with caution. In such situations, do not act hastily. Check in every possible way whether it is really our child asking for money. Also, do not send photos of your payment card or authentication details for electronic banking.