Scammers in Czechia Increasingly Play on Victims' Psychology

Scammers targeting people's money in Czechia are increasingly relying not on stupidity but on victims' natural psychological reactions — fear, trust in authority and time pressure, says Czech police spokesman Jakub Vinčálek. According to him, even people who normally keep a cool head can fall for manipulation.

How social engineering works

"Social engineering works precisely because the criminal manipulates natural human reactions. The most common mechanisms are fear, time pressure, authority, the desire for gain or profit, trust or empathy, and a gradual escalation of demands," Vinčálek explains. A scammer can convince a victim that it's normal to hand over remote access to their computer, send a copy of a document, carry out an unusual banking transaction, or even take out a loan for a supposed investment.

According to former military psychologist Helena Sováková, criminals exploit so-called mental shortcuts — mechanisms the brain normally uses to make quick decisions. "When someone calls us claiming to be a police officer, a bank employee or a representative of another trusted institution, we naturally tend to believe what they say more readily. It's precisely this natural trust in authority that the scammer exploits," Sováková explains.

Fear, urgency and a "profitable" investment

Another tactic is to trigger a victim's fear of loss, reinforced by time pressure: scammers create the impression that the victim is under some kind of threat and has very little time to decide. The less time there is, the less chance there is to check the information. The principle of consistency also works well: the victim is first asked to take a small step — answer a question, confirm some data, click a link — and the demands are then gradually escalated.

According to Sováková, the brain thinks in two ways: fast and intuitive, based on familiar patterns, and slow and analytical, which requires time and calm. It is crucial for the scammer not to let the victim switch to this second, more cautious mode of thinking, so they create stress, urgency and time pressure.

A separate threat: deepfakes and AI

According to Vinčálek, the development of artificial intelligence makes it possible to create ever more convincing fake ads, correspondence and videos: for example, deepfake clips featuring well-known people are often used to promote fake investment offers. Sováková warns that a victim may now receive a call from a voice that sounds like their son's or daughter's, or a well-written letter mentioning the victim's real name, bank or hotel booking — which makes the situation far more difficult than before.

A significant share of scams involve calls, letters and messages in which the criminal poses as a bank, the police or another institution. Over the past two years, investment scams have become especially widespread — above all offers to invest in cryptocurrency, energy or other assets; police call them one of the most dangerous forms of online fraud in terms of the scale of the damage. According to Adam Duffek, a spokesman for the Czech Banking Association, scammers promise unrealistically high returns, use professional-looking websites, fake investment platforms and made-up growth charts — first persuading the victim to transfer a small sum, then gradually pushing them toward ever larger payments.

How to protect yourself

If someone realizes they have fallen victim to scammers, it's important to act immediately, without delay or embarrassment, says Vinčálek: sometimes it is still possible to stop the money transfer — to do this, contact the bank right away, block your cards and access to internet or mobile banking, go to the police, and keep your correspondence with the scammers. As soon as someone starts pressuring you into an immediate financial decision or asks for confidential data, it's worth breaking off contact and verifying the information some other way.

Sováková recommends the "four Ps" rule: pause, ponder, prove, proceed. Duffek reminds people that a bank never asks a customer to state passwords or access codes — that's the main warning sign. If someone calling claims to be a bank employee, it's better to hang up and call the bank back yourself: a bank will never ask you to transfer money to a "safe account."

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz