Believed She Was Helping Law Enforcement, Mława Resident Defrauded of 60,000 PLN

A 31-year-old resident of the Mława district lost 60,000 PLN after falling victim to fraudsters who convinced her she was participating in a secret operation to catch dishonest financial workers.

The Beginning of the Scam

60,000 PLN was lost by a 31-year-old resident of the Mława district who fell victim to fraudsters. The woman believed she was participating in a secret operation aimed at detaining dishonest employees of the financial sector. For several hours she was instructed by criminals, and then she withdrew money from banks and handed it over to an unknown man at a gas station. That same evening, she decided to notify the Police about everything.

The incident took place on Friday, August 21. It all started with a phone call. A man posing as a bank employee called the 31-year-old resident of the Mława district. He informed her that someone had taken out a loan on her account and then withdrawn the accumulated funds. In further conversation, the fraudster convinced the woman that her money was in danger and that she herself had to help secure it. The woman was drawn into a fictitious operation aimed at detaining dishonest financial sector employees.

Instructions and False Text Messages

The criminals instructed her for several hours on what to do. They ordered her not to share information about the ongoing “operation” with anyone and, above all, not to contact other persons.

Text messages were supposed to give credibility to the entire story. The woman received messages that allegedly came from, among others, a bank, the prosecutor’s office, and the Police. Their content was meant to confirm the version of events presented by the fraudsters and reinforce her belief that she was indeed participating in actions conducted by the services.

Cash Withdrawal and Handover

Under the influence of the fraudsters’ instructions, the woman went to two bank branches in Ciechanów and Płońsk, where she made withdrawals from her account. Then she drove to a gas station indicated by the criminals in the Nowy Dwór district. There she handed over 60,000 PLN to an unknown man.

That same evening, she realized she might have fallen victim to fraud and reported the matter to the Police.

Warning Against False SMS Messages and Phone Calls

The described incident shows how much criminals can manipulate their victims. They no longer limit themselves to just one phone call. They create an entire story, use several people, and exploit emotions, time pressure, and the fear of losing money. All of this is done so that the victim stops analyzing the situation independently and starts executing the fraudsters’ commands.

The Police remind us that a real bank employee will never urge a client to withdraw money and hand it over to an unknown person in order to “secure” it.

If someone informs us during a telephone conversation about a supposed threat to our money, a loan taken out using our data, or suspicious transactions, we must not act under the influence of emotion.

We should NEVER provide the interlocutor with electronic banking login data, authorization codes, payment card details, or other confidential information. Nor should we install programs on a phone or computer that allow remote access to the device if an unknown person instructs us to do so.

If we have any doubts, we should end the call and contact the bank ourselves. In the case of a call from a person posing as a police officer or prosecutor, we should also hang up and contact the appropriate institution independently.

Fraudsters Impersonate Banks and Institutions

In the described case, the criminals also used text messages that allegedly came from a bank, the prosecutor’s office, and the Police. Such action is an element of phishing, which is a fraud method consisting of impersonating trusted individuals, companies, or institutions in order to compel the victim to take a specific action or obtain their confidential data.

Let us not trust a message just because it looks like a communication from a bank, the Police, or another institution. Criminals send messages that look very reliable—they use the names and logos of well-known institutions, as well as language designed to inspire trust.

In this case, the fraudsters used SMS messages as additional “confirmation” of their story. In reality, they were only meant to lull vigilance.

We are publishing screenshots of the messages sent by the fraudsters as a warning.

Stop. Hang Up. Verify

If we suspect that we are dealing with an attempted fraud, we should notify the Police. Fraudsters can prepare a credible story, impersonate a bank employee, police officer, or prosecutor, or even send a message that looks like an official communication. However, they cannot change one rule: real services and banks do not demand that we hand over money to unknown persons for their “protection.”

Let us not allow fear and time pressure to make decisions for us.