Cybercriminals constantly come up with new ways to operate effectively. Their goal is to obtain data, for example logins and passwords to online banking accounts or payment card details, and to induce potential victims to transfer money into criminals’ accounts. Fraudsters adapt their modus operandi to the current trends and the situation that exists in a country or globally. They create new attack scenarios and modify the ones they used earlier. However, any such scheme launched by cybercriminals has the same purpose: to swindle money.

How not to get scammed? 

One major factor is the ability to recognise that you are dealing with a scam. This is why we have prepared an educational campaign ‘Cyber-enabled investment scams’. The campaign explains scenarios in which scammers manipulate you by promising high profits and low risk of loss. They can keep swindling money for months. 

Through the campaign, you will learn: 

• how to recognise a fake advertisement,
• what methods scammers use as part of their psychological game,
• how to protect yourself from scammers.

The materials on the website will help you learn more about:

• the most common methods used by scammers,
• a few valuable basic safety rules on how not to get scammed,
• where and how you can report a distressing event.

Remember! 

• Always follow the rule of limited trust; in online interactions, you can never be 100% sure who the person ‘on the other side’ actually is.
• Never provide third parties with codes from banking transaction authorisation messages. 
• Always carefully read all messages and check the transactions you confirm in a mobile app or through text message codes.
• Make sure you do research on the investment you are considering and on who offers it (whether the services are actually offered by the firm claiming to be doing so). 
• Never act hastily and if someone is offering you quick high profits, analyse the offer carefully and verify it, so that you can make an informed decision.

The campaign was prepared with the substantive support from the CSIRT KNF Team. We invite you to follow the CSIRT KNF profiles on social media: X (Twitter), LinkedIn and Facebook, to find the latest news on cybercrime.

The campaign’s website is available in Polish.