The Financial Ombudsman will tell you how to recover funds from fraudsters [Webinar]

Financial fraud is increasing. Criminals use more than magic Forex market, but also dynamically growing cryptocurrencies. So we hear more and more often about people who fell in love and lost tens of thousands, and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of zlotys. A financial spokesman says there are ways to get the money back.

Currently, the Financial Ombudsman is dr hab. Mariusz Jerzy Golecki. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Lodz, Chairman of the Council for Counteracting Tax Avoidance at the Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Main Adjudication Committee in cases of Violation of Public Finance Discipline, and in 2016-2017 director of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Finance and director of the Department of International Law and At the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Poland. 

Be sure to read: Forex scams - how you can get your funds back

A graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw and the University of Cambridge, his task is to support clients in disputes with financial market entities. It helps in various ways: from counseling, through interventions and amicable proceedings, to support during court proceedings. This time it will advise you on what to do when the money has disappeared from our account. 

On Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 18 p.m., there will be a free webinar, aimed primarily at people who have lost funds as a result of an unauthorized transfer, but also those who want to avoid it. 

The financial spokesman informs that there has been a significant increase in the number of such cases recently. In 2020, the Financial Ombudsman had 1163 reports requesting intervention in the case of unauthorized transactions. This means that he got 5 such signals every day. The vast majority of these cases can be classified as fraudulent. As a result, the money disappeared directly from the bank account, payment or credit card account. 

Find out how to recover lost money

The fact that the money has disappeared from the account does not mean that it has become irretrievable. During the evening webinar, the Financial Ombudsman will show you ways to recover stolen funds. Here are some of the main principles he gave before explaining the details:

What to do if someone has withdrawn funds from our account?

If someone makes an unauthorized transfer impersonating you or accessing your account, remember that the bank is obliged to return the stolen money to you.

As soon as you discover a lack of funds in your account, follow these steps:

• Inform your bank, the police and the cert.pl team as soon as possible at www.incydent.cert.pl
• When reporting the matter to the police station, be sure to bring a certificate,
• Send a refund request to the bank.

What to do if the bank refuses?

The bank may refuse to return the stolen money only in two situations:

1. If he proves that the owner is responsible for the withdrawal of funds from the account,
2. If the customer has shown "gross negligence", which includes failure to promptly report the matter and notify the bank of unauthorized access to the account.

If neither of these cases occurred, the money must be transferred to the client's account by the end of 1 business day from the finding of the crime.

If the bank refuses, a complaint should be submitted, which should be considered within 15 working days of its submission. In the event of a further dispute with the bank, you can use the assistance of the Financial Ombudsman.

The flowchart of proceedings in the event of an unauthorized transaction is presented in detail on the website of the Financial Ombudsman: rf.gov.pl.