How do fraudsters manipulate our emotions online? These ways will surprise you

Financial criminals quickly react to current events and change their methods, adapting them to the prevailing social mood and new market opportunities. Filip Marczewski, senior specialist in cyber threat analysis at CERT NASK, points out that one of the examples of such a reaction was a campaign using the images of politicians at the beginning of the year, during the popularity of the so-called “Sejmflix”. According to the specialist, some false advertising campaigns were particularly intense during certain periods.

Fraudsters in Poland – how do they work and how can you defend yourself against them?

Criminals do not always speak Polish well, which is visible in many errors in their messages. Common mistakes, such as “12 thousand” instead of “12 thousand” or “pioniodze” instead of “money”, may indicate the foreign origin of the creators of these scams. Although artificial intelligence is being used to generate malicious content, the language barrier still remains a challenge.

Thanks to cooperation with telecommunications operators and the involvement of Internet users, identified fraudulent websites can now be blocked even within a dozen or so minutes. The growing number of reports proves that public awareness of the threats related to cybercrime is increasing. Only in the first half of 2023, 53,000 pages were submitted, which is a significant increase compared to the entire year 2022. Additionally, from August, applications can be submitted via the mObywatel application.

Who are the scammers?

Criminals are not a homogeneous group. Some work individually, others in small teams, but there are also well-organized groups with broad specializations. In such criminal teams, you can find people responsible for building websites, writing scripts, conducting conversations or making phone calls. These groups are both domestic and foreign, but despite the international nature of their activities, they know the local realities very well and adapt their activities to the Polish market.

Fraudsters follow current events and adapt their campaigns to current trends. They often use images of famous people, as evidenced by changes in fake advertising over time. For example, in June 2023, most false advertisements concerned investments in shares of companies such as PGNiG, Orlen, or Tesla. In turn, in the summer period, 47% of campaigns were based on the images of politicians, but this number decreased in September, when the use of celebrities in fraudsters’ messages increased.