Poland financial security: Fraud warnings and PESEL protection rules

Financial authorities and regulators in Poland are highlighting various methods of fraud and the mechanisms used to combat them. The General Inspector of Financial Information (GIIF) reported that in 2025, 1,170 bank accounts were blocked, involving approximately 266.58 million PLN, an increase from the previous year. This rise is accompanied by over 11,000 notifications regarding suspicious transactions.

To protect against identity theft, citizens can use the mObywatel app to reserve their PESEL number. However, users should be aware of two key rules: the status can only be changed once every 30 minutes, and for bank withdrawals exceeding three times the minimum wage (currently over 12,000 PLN), the PESEL must be unblocked before the transaction is initiated to avoid delays.

The Financial Ombudsman has also issued a warning regarding sophisticated social engineering scams. In one instance, a victim lost nearly 200,000 PLN after fraudsters impersonated various institutions via phone, SMS, and WhatsApp, using fake official documents to gain trust and manipulate the victim into transferring funds.