Seniors are drowning in debt. “Rarely by a Life of Luxury”

Many seniors in Poland face financial problems, and these problems are increasingly caused by cybercriminals. As data from BIG InfoMonitor and BIK show, only over the last year 1,109 people over 65 were targeted by fraudsters. Elderly people were at risk of losing a total of over PLN 15.7 million as a result of various types of fraud – an average of over PLN 43,000. PLN per day.

– Fraudsters not only clean out seniors’ accounts using manipulation and social engineering, but increasingly often incur huge loan obligations on their behalf using data from stolen ID cards or fraudulent credentials. For a person living off a pension, repaying a debt worth several dozen thousand zlotys becomes a burden they are unable to cope with. – comments Paweł Szarkowski, president of BIG InfoMonitor.

Seniors have almost PLN 12 billion in arrears

The multi-million amounts that fraudsters try to extort from seniors may add to their existing arrears to banks and service providers. At the end of April this year. the total value of liabilities collected in the BIG InfoMonitor and BIK databases amounted to almost PLN 11.8 billion and concerned over 345.5 thousand. people. Credit arrears amount to PLN 7.43 billion, and non-credit liabilities, i.e. overdue fees for utilities, rent, telephone and alimony, amount to PLN 4.36 billion. The average debt per senior is currently PLN 34,132. It is noteworthy that over 70 percent non-credit liabilities are relatively small amounts, not exceeding PLN 5,000. zloty.

– The oldest Poles rarely get into trouble because of their luxurious lifestyle. Even the basic costs of existence are often a challenge for them: rent, utility and telephone bills, where the average arrears are PLN 2,185. Often, they get into financial problems because of scammers selling expensive pots, bedding or fictitious subscriptions – explains Dr. Hab. Waldemar Rogowski, chief analyst at BIG InfoMonitor.

The number of senior debtors and debtors is similar (179,000 and 165,000, respectively), but men generate much higher amounts of arrears. Their unpaid credit and non-credit liabilities amount to over PLN 7.29 billion of the total debt of seniors.

Seniors from the province have the most to give. Masovian Voivodeship (PLN 2.6 billion). Second place in this respect is taken by Silesia (almost PLN 1.5 billion in arrears). This region is also the leader when it comes to the largest number of debtors aged 65 plus (51,000 people). The inglorious podium is closed by the province. Lower Silesia, where seniors must return a total of over PLN 1 billion. People living in the province have the least arrears. Podlaskie (PLN 202 million).