You can lose your savings by one phone. This is how scammers work

The Bank Guarantee Fund warns about the new fraud scheme. Criminals call banks clients, pretending to be fund employees and try to persuade the interlocutors to provide login data, PIN codes and SMS codes needed to authorize the transaction. The message published by BFG clearly shows that such activities are an attempt to fraud, and fund employees never contact banks’ clients in such matters.

Fake messages

The BFG announcement emphasized that the fund does not ask for any information about bank accounts, does not demand access passwords, PIN codes, SMS or other data enabling access to financial resources. It also does not suggest cash payments or transfers. These types of demands are a clear sign of fraud.

It is appealing to be particularly cautious in situations where the interlocutor claims that he represents BFG or the bank, and informs about the alleged attempt to break into the account or other incident regarding the security of funds. The fund reminds that its helpline (800 569 341) only works in receiving calls and is never used to make calls to customers.

Suspicious phones

If you answer your suspect, you should contact your bank as soon as possible and verify that the situation actually took place. If there is an attempt to extort, it should be reported to the relevant institutions – a bank that may warn other clients or police, especially when there was a loss of money.

If the fraud took the form of an SMS message, it should be sent to 8080 – this is a special CERT Polska line dealing with cybersecurity applications. Each application may help prevent subsequent scams and protect other people from losing funds.