Fake wins, fake inheritances, fake customs fees, fake soldiers, fake gifts, fake loan offers, fake money-making offers.
Fraudsters use these and other pretences to trick people out of their money. They contact them via email, social media (Facebook, Instagram etc.) or dating sites. They tell you that you have the chance to acquire a large sum of money and all you need to do for it to be yours is to pay a “small” fee. Usually, it ends up being several payments of varying amounts. Often, a trusting individual takes out a loan to pay these fees.
Don’t be fooled, however. Fraudsters are able to falsify various confirmations to make them look just like they were issued by official banks, or provide documents with forged official stamps. They even send copies of personal ID cards. They can even go as far as to call you up and pretend to be a bank director or another important person
- Fake inheritance – in the majority of these messages, which are sent by a ‘lawyer,’ you are told that you are being contacted because your surname “matches” that of a deceased person who has no heir. They offer to share a large inheritance with you.
- Fake winnings/gift – this scam is run in much the same way as the “inheritance” scam, but instead of an inheritance, you are told that you have won a vast amount of money or a very valuable gift.
- Fake soldier – a man or woman contacts you with a story about being on a mission in a foreign country (currently Afghanistan). Then they:
- ask you to send some money so they can buy their way out of the army and return home to their family or to you because they have fallen in love with you over social media, or
- they have found a fortune, which they will send to you if you cover the related expenses, or
- they need your financial assistance because they have no money.
- Loan/easy income – you need a loan, fast, or you need to make some money quickly. The fraudster promises this willingly and the only thing you need to do is pay a fee.
How to protect yourself:
- Don’t trust every message you receive, especially if you do not know the sender.
- In the case of an inheritance, ask yourself if there is anyone you could actually be inheriting from.
- Concerning documents, check online if the notary public or lawyer indicated on the document actually exists.
- A loan can be helpful, but is it even legal for unknown sources to lend you money for a small fee?
- Use the internet to try to find information, ideally reviews, about the company that sent you the message.
- If a person communicates with you by telephone, search for the number online. You can usually find reviews of it.
- You can verify a Czech company by its registration number or ‘IČO.’ Go to www.justice.cz or www.info.mfcr.cz/ares/ and look under the ‘Economic Entities’ section.
- Be wary of communicating on social media with someone you do not know. Never send money to a stranger!
Take the following steps if you become a victim of fraud:
- Visit any one of our branches or call our toll-free number 800 207 207 and tell us what happened.
- Forward the original email to phishing@csas.cz
- Report the incident to the Czech Police.