Polish Police and courts are intensifying actions against fraudsters who rob seniors and investors. In March 2026, a series of arrests took place, and a landmark court ruling ordered a bank to refund 70,000 złoty to a phishing victim.
Landmark court ruling
A court ordered a bank to refund over 70,000 złoty to a woman who lost funds due to a fraudulent SMS, recognizing the institution's liability for security.
Gang dismantled and arrests
Police seized a quarter million złoty after dismantling a gang robbing seniors and arrested perpetrators operating the 'doctor' scam method.
High investment losses
A resident of Olsztyn County lost over 120,000 złoty after believing a promise of quick investment profits.
Polish Police and courts are intensifying the fight against a plague of financial fraud, with victims including both seniors and people seeking quick investment profits. In Olsztyn County, a woman lost over 120,000 złoty after believing a fake investment offer, while another senior, manipulated over the phone, threw envelopes containing her savings directly out the window. Criminals are increasingly modifying known techniques, using methods like the 'doctor' scam, which caused losses in the Lublin Voivodeship.
Effective actions by officers allowed for the dismantling of an organized criminal group, from which the equivalent of a quarter million złoty in various currencies was seized. A spectacular arrest also occurred thanks to the intervention of an off-duty police couple who thwarted an attempt to extort money from an elderly person. In another region of the country, police caught a so-called cash collector red-handed, preventing the loss of 70,000 złoty. A shocking aspect of the crime wave is the age of the perpetrators – a mere 16-year-old girl will be held accountable for defrauding a senior woman of an amount exceeding 100,000 złoty. Frauds targeting seniors, such as the 'grandchild scam', began to be widely reported in Poland at the beginning of the 21st century. Despite numerous information campaigns conducted by the Police, citizens' losses reach tens of millions of złoty each year. The Polish Police, established in 1990 to replace the Citizens' Militia, has for years been developing special units to combat cybercrime and social engineering fraud.
An important signal for the financial sector is a recent court ruling that ordered a bank to refund over 70,000 złoty to a woman harmed in a phishing attack. The victim lost funds after receiving a single SMS, and the financial institution initially refused to acknowledge the complaint. However, the court recognized the bank's liability for inadequate transaction security, which may set a precedent for thousands of other people fighting to recover stolen savings.