Poland warns of phishing SMS scams as Orange launches CyberTarcza Go protection app

A resident of Zielona Góra received a suspicious SMS that appeared to be from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and, instead of clicking the link, visited a ZUS office where staff confirmed it was a fraud attempt. ZUS reminded the public that it never sends SMS messages containing external links or requests for passwords, logins, or payment details, and urged anyone receiving such messages to forward them to the free number 8080.

According to a CERT Orange report, 90 % of Poles receive fraudulent SMS messages. In the same period, CERT blocked 345,000 phishing domains, preventing data theft and financial loss for around 5.5 million internet users. Phishing made up 47 % of recorded threats, while fake investment sites accounted for nearly 70 % of blocked malicious pages. Orange introduced the CyberTarcza Go mobile app, which blocks malicious links on Android and iOS devices irrespective of the network operator, Wi‑Fi, or roaming status. The app is free for the first month and then costs 14.99 zł per month, protecting up to three devices per subscription.