Fraud and scams.
Fraudsters work by rushing you. Knowing how they operate is the strongest protection there is, so here is how the common scams work and what you can do.
GSS will never ask for your password, PIN, or one-time code over the phone, by email, or by text.
The scams to know about.
General guidance on how these frauds work. It is not specific to GSS, and none of it describes activity on your account.
Impersonation
Someone calls or messages pretending to be your bank, the police or a government office. They tell you your money is at risk and press you to move it to a "safe account". No genuine institution will ever ask you to do that.
Warning signs
- An unexpected call claiming to be from your bank
- Pressure to move money immediately
- A request to keep the call to yourself
Investment scams
Guaranteed high returns, exclusive access, or a "risk-free" opportunity. These often begin on social media or a messaging app. Once you have paid, the money goes — or you are asked for more to "release" it.
Warning signs
- Unusually high returns described as guaranteed
- Pressure to decide before you can check
- An unregulated platform or an unknown broker
Romance scams
Someone builds a relationship online over weeks or months, then invents an emergency that needs money. They often claim to be working abroad. People frequently lose a great deal before anything feels wrong.
Warning signs
- Never able to meet or take a video call
- A sudden financial emergency once trust is established
- Requests to send money to an account abroad
Phishing and smishing
Emails, text messages or websites made to look like a real organisation — a bank, a courier, a tax office. They exist to collect your login details or card number on a page that is not what it appears to be.
Warning signs
- An unexpected link asking you to "verify" something
- A sender address that does not match the real one
- Threats that an account will be closed
Purchase scams
You pay for something — often through a marketplace or a classified ad — that never arrives. Tickets, electronics and rental properties are common. You are usually asked to pay outside the platform’s own checkout.
Warning signs
- A seller asking for a bank transfer instead of secure checkout
- A price well below what the item normally costs
- No verifiable reviews or seller history
Invoice and CEO fraud
Someone impersonates a senior colleague or a supplier and sends an urgent request to transfer funds or to change the bank details on file. These target businesses, and are often timed for a payment run or while a manager is away.
Warning signs
- An urgent transfer request from a senior name
- A supplier asking to change their account details
- A request to skip the usual approval
Multiple layers between you and fraud.
These are controls in the GSS app area that you can use yourself. None of them is operated from this website.
Card freeze, when cards launch
GSS cards are not available yet. Freezing and unfreezing a card from the app area is one of the controls planned for them.
Sessions you can end
The Security page lists every session signed in to your account. If you see one you do not recognise, end it and reset your password.
Checked before you send
Every payment shows its recipient, amount and account for review before you confirm it. Use that moment to check the recipient is who you expect.
Two-factor authentication
Once you turn on two-factor authentication, signing in to the GSS app area needs a code from an authenticator app as well as your password, so a stolen password alone is not enough to reach your account.
What to do first.
Secure your sign-in
Sign in, end any session you do not recognise and reset your password. That stops anyone else using your sign-in while you work out what happened.
Contact GSS support
Contact GSS support through secure messages in the app area. Do not use contact details anyone else gives you: fraudsters may try to intercept your call or message.
Report it to the authorities
In Poland that means CERT Polska and the police, and the KNF for unauthorised financial activity. The links are below.
Send no more money
Fraudsters often call back posing as police or as a recovery service. No genuine investigation asks you to transfer money.
Common questions.
- What is an authorised push payment scam?
- It is when someone deceives you into making a payment yourself, to an account they control. Because you authorised the payment, it is treated differently from a payment made without your knowledge.
- How can I tell a message really came from GSS?
- Do not judge it by the message. Open your account yourself, without using any link you were sent, and check the secure messages there. Anything genuine and important will be waiting for you.
- Will I get my money back?
- That depends on the type of fraud and on rules that have not yet been published here. We are not going to promise an outcome on this page that we cannot guarantee. When the refund and recovery terms are approved, they will be published and linked from here.
Reporting in Poland.
These are independent public bodies. Listing them is not a statement that GSS works with them, and they cannot act on your GSS account.
Seen something suspicious?
To report fraud, contact GSS support through secure messages in the GSS app area. That channel is only for GSS customers. If you are not a GSS customer, you can report fraud through your own bank, and to the authorities above.
Still not sure?
The Help Centre covers accounts, cards and payments, in Polish and English.