Polish police report over 50 alerts of unauthorised ATM withdrawals from a major bank’s customer accounts in October, urging the public to verify their accounts.
Polish police warn of unauthorised ATM withdrawals
From Saturday 25 October, over 50 reports of unauthorised cash withdrawals from a large bank’s customers have been filed with police in the Kuyavian–Pomeranian voivodeship.
Most incidents have occurred in Bydgoszcz—51 withdrawals—but there have also been single incidents in Nakło, Żnin, and Aleksandrowo Kujawskie. Senior Inspector Andrzej Borowiak also reported cases in the Poznań district.
Victims report withdrawals nationwide
Police are receiving mass reports from customers of a nationwide bank. They indicate that money has been withdrawn from their accounts at ATMs across the country, notably in Wrocław, Kraków, Warsaw and Łódź.
Inspector Borowiak urged people to check their accounts for any unauthorised transactions.
Are Polish customers’ funds safe?
Banking regulators say customers’ funds remain protected. If no third party benefits from an account theft, the money will be returned.
Przemysław Barbrich, director of the Polish Banks’ Association communication and PR team, told TVN24 that a full investigations will be conducted and that the theft may involve “scanning overlay devices” placed on ATMs to capture PINs.
Santander monitors and reacts to fraud
Santander said that monitoring systems detected suspect transactions using customers’ cards at ATMs in the partner network. After identification, all affected cards were secured.
The bank is cooperating with the ATM operator for a deeper analysis of the source, suspecting the installation of scanning devices on partner network machines. Technical teams are inspecting targeted ATMs, and Santander has informed law‑enforcement authorities and is preparing a criminal complaint.
