PPL warns: Fraudulent SMS are followed by more and more cunning phone calls and worthless cash-on-delivery parcels

Statistical data from the Police of the Czech Republic show this. The PPL company also warns against fraudulent practices; thieves hide behind it as well. Most often it is fake carrier websites, fraudulent SMS or e-mails, but fraudulent phone calls are also on the rise. Damaged goods or empty or unwanted cash-on-delivery parcels are also a problem. The clearance rate for internet crime is still lower than normal.

Unfortunately, online crime is a growing phenomenon and the number of cases is increasing year on year. Last year alone, the Police recorded an increase of more than 1 000 reported criminal incidents. This was told to PPL by spokesperson Capt. Jakub Vinčálek.

Czech consumers also contact PPL with these problems: 'On average, customers report to our customer service line a unit of cases of fraudulent practices every day,' comments Lenka Janatová, Director of Customer Service at PPL CZ.

The company's customer service manager, Ms. PPL, is responsible for the delivery of fraudulent SMS or damaged, empty or unordered parcels.

There are two types of scams most often used by thieves on the Czech market. Both have one goal - to rob the victims. In the first type of fraud, the thief first lures sensitive data from the victim (e.g. access to internet banking), and only later transfers the funds. "Very often this is a crime committed by organised groups from abroad. Typical cases are reverse advertising scams1 or SMS fraud," says Capt. Jakub Vinčálek. In the second type, fraudsters send fake packages on delivery.

Criminals don't just target the elderly anymore

Gone are the days when fraudsters primarily targeted the older generation or groups with lower digital literacy. "With the rise of digital fraud, there is also a proliferation of ways in which fraudsters are trying to exploit gullibility across the general public and age groups. Fraudulent sites and platforms are tailored to the interests of particular groups, and fraudsters often abuse their names, including our company name," points out Petr Horák, CEO of PPL CZ.

Thieves misuse the names of banking institutions or shipping companies

The tricks where thieves impersonate banks, transport companies or state administration offices are becoming more and more frequent, and the methods of fraud are constantly improving.

"The sending of fraudulent SMS messages pretending to be sent by institutions or transport companies persists. The aim is to lure the victim's online banking access details and illegally drain their funds. We are currently seeing an increase in cases involving a very dangerous modus operandi, namely a combination of a fraudulent SMS message and a fraudulent phone call," Vinčálek explains.

With the expansion of the younger generations, criminals often exploit discount and bazaar portals. "A typical situation is when fraudsters show interest in the goods on offer. When arranging how the goods will be handed over, they then offer to arrange collection, for example, through a PPL driver who will pack the parcel on the spot, and the seller only has to confirm receipt of payment. The "potential buyer" is then sent a link to a fake website of the carrier, which requires them to fill in a form with sensitive data - for example, date of birth, bank login and also to share their credit card number," Janatová explains.

PPL points out that customers will never encounter such behaviour and requests when communicating with the company. "The customer should be alert if the web address sent has a different format than the one that starts with ppl.cz and continues after the slash by specifying a specific page. The appearance of the page is also not decisive, the fraudulent pages are usually graphically indistinguishable from our real ones. Above all, customers should never share sensitive information such as passwords, PINs or bank details with anyone. If they do, they should immediately contact the Czech Police," warns Horák.

Beware of cash on delivery and unverified e-shops

Fraud also occurs when customers order goods themselves. Fake online shops, mostly from abroad, which do not actually offer the goods in question, are widespread: "The customer orders goods from an online shop on delivery. Once they pay for the goods and then unpack them, they either find something different than what they ordered, usually in the minimum value, or there is only filler to make the package look credible," Janatová explains. "When the recipient of the parcel subsequently wants to claim the goods, he finds that the e-shop is no longer traceable on the internet or any contacts are unavailable. Therefore, when shopping online, you need to be on the lookout whenever something seems a little off, for example, if the goods are at a suspiciously low price."

Another type is the so-called junk COD: "The customer is contacted by a courier from a shipping company saying that he has a package for him on delivery. The package is often worth the value of the damage (often CZK 600 - 2 800). A large number of people pay and then find out that it is a package they did not order at all. The parcel comes from abroad and it is virtually impossible to contact the sender and claim the item. The perpetrators here are surely relying on curiosity, loss of knowledge of the ordered goods, coincidence, pressure that the customer does not want to delay the courier, and the mistaken belief that they can eventually return the goods," says Vinčálek.

What to do when the customer takes over the goods

If consumers do fall for fraudsters, it is important to contact the police as soon as possible: "Customers often contact the driver or our customer service line directly. However, PPL as a transport company cannot be held responsible for the quality and content of the shipment. Moreover, the sender of this type of package is most often a foreign e-shop that has a contract with an intermediary, who then contacts us with a request for delivery in the Czech Republic. Thus, our company has no chance to trace the real e-shop from which the goods or the empty package originated," Janatová says. PPL is always obliged to forward the cash on delivery from the customer to the intermediary with whom it has a contract. Only the Czech Police can issue an order to suspend the cash on delivery and determine the next steps.

It is important to mention that in most cases, these are honest online shops and neither the intermediaries nor the shipping companies are able to detect a fraudulent e-shop in advance. "The situation is all the more complicated because the vast majority of shipments even from these e-shops tend to be fine and shipments containing other goods or goods of inferior quality are many times less. In some cases, there may be human error in the handling and packaging of the order," Janatová adds.

However, PPL's customer service regularly monitors reported cases. "If we repeatedly see a reported case from a particular intermediary, we report this fact to them and they continue to resolve the situation, often even terminating cooperation with a particular e-shop," Janatová explains . Unfortunately, fraudsters do not stop and are able to create a new e-shop under a different name and continue their fraud quite quickly.

Unfortunately, the clearance rate for cybercrime is low. This is mainly due to the fact that criminal proceedings are not just a matter for the Czech Republic. This is, of course, time-consuming and costly for the entire investigation. We are able to reach the perpetrators of these crimes in cooperation with foreign colleagues and bring them to justice. However, this does not mean that we always manage to recover money from the victims," Vinčálek concludes.