A Polish Post employee saved a senior citizen from fraud
Thanks to the vigilance of Jolanta, an employee at the Polish Post office in Gdynia, a customer's savings were saved. A nervous and distraught senior citizen arrived at the Gdynia post office wanting to send a significant sum of money abroad. Polish Post employees are trained to handle such situations, which helps protect many customers from attempts to defraud them of their savings.
A postal worker once again prevented a crime that allegedly targeted an elderly customer. On January 11th of this year, a senior citizen approached the counter of the Gdynia 6 Post Office, expressing an interest in sending a significant sum of money to the UK. This led the employee serving the elderly man to suspect he might have been the victim of fraud.
The customer had a piece of paper with the name of the person he intended to send money to. The cashier wanted to ensure the information was correct and to determine if the recipient was familiar. During the conversation, the senior citizen left the branch three times, returning to confirm the information and his intention to complete the transaction. The customer's unusual behavior further alarmed the employee. The cashier then invited the senior citizen to the back of the branch to speak with him privately. During the conversation, the postal worker learned that the payment request was a secret police operation.
While the senior was in the back of the facility, the phone rang again. The scammers tried to determine if the man was having trouble completing the transaction. The cashier asked the senior to confirm to the caller that everything was okay. Meanwhile, the employee contacted the nearest police station. The police, who immediately arrived at the office, confirmed the vigilant cashier's suspicions.
"Frauds using so-called 'grandson scams' or 'police scams' primarily affect digitally excluded seniors. Elderly individuals who fall victim to these types of crimes often lose their lifelong savings. The vigilance and sound decisions of our employees have repeatedly protected customers from these types of scams, for which I am very grateful to our postal workers, " notes Krzysztof Falkowski, CEO of Poczta Polska.
For years, Poczta Polska has been warning against fraudsters who impersonate public officials or supposed acquaintances and attempt to extort money. The company's employees are prepared to assist and advise in such situations. Poczta Polska is an institution of public trust, and our unique relationship with customers allows us to better recognize both needs and threats, identified through, for example, unusual behavior.