• In time of uncertainty in financial markets, we should cautiously approach high risk-free profit offers.
• Beware also of training and fundraising proposals from unknown people or organisations.
• The President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny, advises how to protect against fraudsters who want to exploit our fear of coronavirus epidemic and crisis.

During the pandemic, fraudsters have became active. They lure consumers with high risk-free profits, products or services said to be a panacea for coronavirus, or try to exploit the willingness to help others.

“I urge you to be extremely careful in this difficult time. Carefully check all the proposals - especially those from unknown people or organisations. Do not believe in above-average profits or "miraculous" anti-coronavirus solutions. Do not click any suspicious links. Please report fraud attempts to the police,” says Tomasz Chróstny, president of UOKiK.

Alternative financial investments

Many people are afraid of losing money due to the epidemic crisis and want to protect their savings. Fraudsters exploit this fact. They offer, mainly via the Internet, investments in non-standard securities, currencies, goods or commodities. The sellers assure they "guarantee" stable and secure profits of high return rate. You also should be wary of: special virus insurance, great bargains/extra cheap offers, investment based on unclear, incomprehensible rules or regulations. Remember that too good to be true "bargains" are usually a fraud - instead of earning profit, you may lose your savings. Carefully examine such offers, don not succumb to the pressure of making instant transfers, especially to unknown accounts.

Chain letters and financial pyramids

The President of UOKiK also warns against investing money in pyramid-type promotional schemes. This can be, for example, an investment project with a small starting fee, part of which is to be donated to charity, and the condition for receiving shares is to promote the venture among friends. Over time, it turns out that even higher payments do not allow for making a profit, and the condition for recovering the invested funds is to introduce new people to the scheme. Without rapid inflow of new customers, the scheme collapses and you may lose everything. As it is impossible to ensure continuous, rapid increase in the investor number - each pyramid-scheme must collapse sooner or later. Some pyramid-schemes hide behind neutral or positive-looking websites that promote business ventures, free online training, and social initiatives. In this way, they try to authenticate in the eyes of a potential "investor". Carefully check the ads that appear when using social media; sometimes they relate to various types of paid services or inviting our friends to join business projects operating under a pyramid-scheme.

Be cautious of the so-called chain letters and other spam, especially those allegedly sent by aid organizations or the World Health Organization (WHO). In some countries, fraudsters attach the so-called “cryptocurrency wallets" to such offers and you may lose control over your savings as a result.

“Miraculous” formulas

Beware also of seminars, trainings or webinars (often organised online) where people who have achieved financial success are to speak. You will have to pay in advance for your participation or materials. Often, the value of such "training" is minimal, as is the chance to recover the money paid.

Stay sceptic about ads and offers of products that are supposed to protect against coronavirus. The same applies to medications or dietary supplements that are to prevent infection - currently there are none! Do not believe the false online offers on coronavirus tests or vaccines for which you have to pay in advance. Do not get fooled, even if fraudsters impersonate officials, doctors, experts, representatives of international institutions, renowned research institutes or people "healed" with a miraculous specifics. Take care of older consumers - your parents, grandparents, neighbours. They are particularly vulnerable to various tricks.

Help offers

Cancelled flights, tours or events also create an opportunity for fradudsters. Be careful when a company calls us to offer recovery of money paid for, e.g., a trip or a theater ticket. In such a situation, it is best to hang up and try to talk directly to the entity that we concluded the contract with - it also suffers from the coronovirus epidemic turmoil. In this case, we can use, for example, free legal assistance offered by UOKiK via the hotline and e-mail or directly at the Consumer Ombudsman.

Do also watch out for offers on, e.g., additional money or training, which may be presented as aid to consumers or entrepreneurs connected with the epidemic. You should be alert if you have to pay something before the support is provided. Remember that institutions which provide support also offer free advice.

Fundraising for a good cause

We encourage you to help those in need, but we remind you to carefully verify the fundraising organiser before you transfer your donation to its account. In the case of crowdfunding, read carefully the terms and conditions. Make sure you are dealing with reliable entities that actually support the sick, an artist or football club in a difficult situation. Reliable organisers of this type of fundraising use official communication channels, reach you through the media, registered associations and foundations. Be careful about actions dedicated to unknown charities. When acting in trust and trying to help pandemic victims, we may inadvertently pass our money and data to fraudsters.

Fake news

Spreading false information on the Internet means not only misleading people and creating chaos, but sometimes also is an attempt to steal money or data. This could be, for example, information about government bonds for fighting coronavirus (there are no such) or an email notification that our account was blocked by the government due to a state of emergency. In such situations, do not click any links, open any attachments or make any payments. Also, do not log in to unknown websites, e.g. offering to check if the virus is transmitted through the air. An information is probably fake news if, e.g., there are numerous spelling mistakes on the website or in the email.

Watch out for thieves

The epidemic time is also an opportunity for ordinary thieves to get into your homes. A pretext can be, for example, doorstep selling of masks, disinfectants or virus tests, or making the latter at home. There may also be attempts to impersonate sanitary officers who order to leave the apartment, saying that someone who you had contact with has been infected with coronavirus. In such cases, you should immediately contact your family or neighbours and notify the police.

You do not want to lose money, remember:

• Watch out for ads offering quick, risk-free profit, suspicious emails and attachments from unknown people;
• Do not disclose your data by phone, especially to unknown callers;
• Make sure the online payment method is secure;
• Do not believe you won something if you have not tried to;
• Carefully examine web address of the shop or charity fundraising - if anything seems suspicious, do not transfer money;
• Do not get persuaded to buy “miraculous" supplements or medical devices;
• Reliable sellers provide their business details on their websites - if the data is missing, do not trust them;
• You should always have time to make a decision - if someone tells you to decide immediately, because the bargain is a short-time one, they probably want to cheat you;
• If you suspect fraud, report the case to the police.

More consumer advice useful during difficult time of the epidemic is available at: uokik.gov.pl/koronawirus. There, we have provided constantly updated answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding financial services, shopping, tourism etc.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
e-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer Ombudsmen – in your town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: Phone: +48 22 299 60 – Dlakonsumenta.pl

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL