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Beware of false correspondence from the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland!

Dear Clients,

we wish to warn you about a phishing campaign in which fraudsters impersonate the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland (UPRP).

What should you be wary of?

  • bogus requests for payment sent by mail (or, less frequently, by email);
  • fake invoices and “DECISIONS”

claiming to be from UPRP.

What does the scam consist in?

Fraudsters impersonate the existing institution using UPRP’s old template to appear legitimate.
They send clients messages requesting them to transfer money onto a fake, fraudulent account number under the pretence of having made an entry into a register and granting protection right to a trademark.

How to check whether a message is genuine?

  • The Patent Office of the Republic of Poland has published an official warning entitled “Warning about bogus requests for payment, invoices or decisions!” on its website, containing, among others, UPRP’s only real account number for payments. Additionally, the warning contains the official standpoint of UPRP and a hotline number where queries/information about suspicious correspondence can be reported;
  • Should you be in doubt as to the genuineness of a message and/or an account number, please contact the bank or UPRP, e.g. using the dedicated hotline, to have the message verified;
  • Please see an example of phishing email scam below.


What to do if you have already transferred money to a fake account?

  • Immediately report the incident to mBank, describing it and indicating, at least, the recipient’s account number;

You can contact us in several ways – by calling the Contact Center hotline (+48 801 273 273/ +48 22 6 273 273), by contacting your Advisor or Corporate Branch or by sending an authorised message via mBank CompanyNet;

  • Notify law enforcement authorities, presenting (if possible) the letter/invoice/email in question;
  • Optionally: report the incident to UPRP


Example of fake correspondence:

Uwaga
 
Uwaga
 

Categories:

SME and Corporates