The 20-year-old put headphones on sale. He fell victim to fraud and lost his savings. – Fraudsters are not idle and invent new ways to get their victims’ money – warn the police.
A few days ago, a 20-year-old man, a resident of Zwoleń County in Masovia, placed an advertisement on one of the websites for the sale of headphones worth several hundred zlotys. A moment after placing the ad, he received a text message that the item was sold, and details can be found in the link attached to the message.
PLN 12,000 disappeared from the account
The man entered the link received and was redirected to his bank’s website. This was a signal to the fraudsters that they could move on. A moment later, the 20-year-old received a phone call from a man pretending to be an employee of a sales portal, to whom – at his request – he provided the codes obtained from the bank. – In this way, the injured party gave the fraudster the opportunity to use and make changes to his bank’s website – said Katarzyna Słyk from the District Police Headquarters in Zwoleń.
Following the next commands, the 20-year-old – convinced that the transaction would be finalized soon – provided subsequent codes sent to his phone, as well as details from his ATM card. Only when the fraudster had everything he needed to take over his victim’s money did he end the conversation.
After thinking for a while and checking the telephone number from which the call was made on the Internet, the victim realized what had happened. After logging in to his bank’s website, it turned out that his account was missing over PLN 12,000. zloty.
“Fraudsters are not idle”
The police advise that before making similar transactions online, read the regulations of the sales portal to know what to expect. You should also read text messages from banks carefully and pay attention to what you authorize. It is also worth knowing your bank’s security rules.
“Fraudsters are not idle and come up with new ways to get their victims’ money,” the police emphasize. Criminals can, for example, fake the website of a sales portal, but also of a bank; the graphic designs are almost identical to the original ones, although they often contain errors and the content is grammatically incorrect.
It is also worth quickly checking the telephone number from which unknown people are calling on the Internet; it may already be marked as a potential scam. You should not rush and thoughtlessly follow all the instructions of the people on the phone, especially when it comes to money.
When fraud occurs, you must first contact the bank via the hotline or in person, block the ATM card via the mobile application and report the crime to the police.
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