Using someone else’s identity, attempts were made to extort 1,943 loans for a total of over PLN 67.3 million (approx. EUR 14.8 mln) in Q4 2020, the Polish Bank Association (ZBP) informed in the 44th edition of the InfoDOK report.
“In the fourth quarter of 2020, attempts were made to extort 1,943 loans for a total amount of PLN 67.3 million. While the amount is not spectacularly large – close to the average for the last two years – the number of attempts is the highest in 6 years. No However, this is a grossly high number compared to the record 2.5 thousand attempts in 2008. Traditionally, the most such cases are recorded in the Dolnośląskie, Śląskie and Mazowieckie voivodships “- said Grzegorz Kondek, coordinator of the Information Campaign of the Reserved Documents System, quoted in the release.
As he reported, in the fourth quarter of 2020, 9 fraud attempts were recorded for very high amounts exceeding PLN 1 million, the largest of which concerned PLN 4.4 million. Hence the relatively low total amount of extortion attempts in the entire quarter. Throughout 2020, there were 26 such attempts.
Throughout the year, in terms of the number of extortion attempts, with a result of 6,900 attempts, it was a year similar to the average for the last 13 years amounting to 7,100.
“The total annual amount is PLN 253.8 million (appox. EUR 55.8 mln) – the result very close to the lowest in the history annual amount from 2015 at the level of PLN 253.3 million” – added Kondek.
In the period October-December 2020, the database of the Restricted Documents System increased by 31,106 documents and contained a total of 2,038,229 identity cards, passports, driving licenses and other documents that confirm the identity of persons holding them.
“This is a relatively small increase compared to what we have been used to in recent years, but this year is also really special. The second wave of the pandemic can be seen in the lower number of reservations, i.e. Poles stayed at home. There are significantly fewer people on the streets and in public transport than so usually pickpockets have very difficult conditions of their “work”. Statistically, only 338 documents were sent to the base every day “- said Kondek.
The ZBP Reserved Documents system is a nationwide database of millions of stolen and lost documents. It protects against fraudulent use of someone else’s identity. Documents should be reserved by everyone – not only bank customers. This is the most important step that must be taken immediately, when we lose, for example, ID card, passport or driving license. In just a few minutes, the data goes to all banks, mobile operators and thousands of other companies using the system.
Source: ISBnews
