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The scale of the problem in Poland
When we talk about scams targeting older adults, we don't rely on guesswork. We have hard data | and it's alarming. According to Bank Pocztowy's 2025 report "Cyberdojrzali", as many as 46% of Polish seniors have had direct contact with an attempt to steal money or personal data in a digital environment. That means nearly every second person over 60 has received a fake email, a suspicious text, a call from a supposed bank employee, or has been redirected to a phishing website.
The scale of financial losses is equally troubling. Data from the National Police Headquarters for 2024 shows that the total amount of money lost by older adults to scams exceeded 156 million zloty. That figure covers both classic methods | like the "grandchild scam" or the "police officer scam" | and newer techniques using technology: fake investment platforms, deepfake video calls, or AI-powered voice cloning.
At the same time, CERT Polska, the team responsible for responding to computer incidents, recorded more than 260,000 cybersecurity incidents in 2024 | an increase of nearly 30% compared to the previous year. A significant share of these incidents involved phishing attacks, including campaigns aimed directly at older people who are only just learning to use new technologies.
Importantly, these statistics only cover reported cases. Experts estimate that the real scale of the problem could be two or even three times higher. Many older adults don't report scams | out of shame, out of not realising they've been manipulated, or simply because they don't know who to turn to.
And what about Hungary?
The ODYSSEY project runs in two countries | Poland and Hungary | so it's worth looking at the situation on the other side of the border too. Data from the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) for the first quarter of 2024 paints an equally troubling picture. Losses suffered by Hungarian citizens due to online financial fraud reached 13 billion forints (about 140 million zloty) in the first quarter alone. On an annual basis, this figure may exceed 50 billion forints.
According to Hungarian research, as many as 57% of active internet users in the country have encountered at least one form of attempted online fraud | from fake investment offers, through marketplace scams, to bank phishing. In Hungary, as in Poland, older people are disproportionately often the victims. This results from several factors: less experience with digital technologies, greater trust in institutional authorities (banks, police, government offices), and social isolation, which means older adults less often verify suspicious situations with loved ones.
A common thread in both countries is that criminals are increasingly adapting their methods to the local context. In Hungary, courier scams and fake texts from delivery companies are popular; in Poland, the "grandchild scam" and the "police officer scam". Regardless of the scenario, the mechanism is always the same: creating time pressure, triggering fear, and blocking rational thinking.
The good news: education works
Against this troubling backdrop, there's something that gives hope. Both Polish and Hungarian research show that older adults' awareness of digital threats is rising | and rising quickly. In the 2025 "Cyberdojrzali" report, 62% of respondents over 60 stated they could recognise at least one type of online scam (such as email phishing). That's 14 percentage points more than in a comparable study two years earlier.
What's more, the report reveals a paradoxical picture: older adults who have completed even basic cybersecurity training turn out to be one of the most sensible groups of internet users. More often than younger users, they check a message's sender, avoid clicking unknown links, and use two-step login verification. The difference is that they need more time and patience to adopt new habits | but once they do, they take safety rules very seriously.
Research by the Financial Education Centre at WIB (Warsaw Institute of Banking) confirms this: older adults who took part in in-person workshops showed a 40% higher level of phishing-threat recognition than those who had no access to any form of digital education. This proves that investing in senior education isn't an abstract idea | it's a measurable effect.
Where are the gaps?
In preparing the substantive foundations for the ODYSSEY project, we conducted a systematic review of 25 academic publications from 2009-2025. We used the Elicit tool for this, which allows searching a database of more than 138 million academic articles using artificial intelligence. Our goal was to identify the most important gaps in existing education for older adults in financial and digital safety.
The review revealed several critical shortcomings. First, there's a lack of dedicated educational programmes that combine digital safety knowledge with a practical financial context. Most existing materials are either too technical (aimed at IT specialists) or too general (information posters, leaflets). Older adults need materials that walk them step by step through real scenarios | from recognising a fake text message to reacting correctly to a suspicious phone call.
Second, almost none of the publications reviewed accounted for the emotional aspect of scams. Yet it's precisely emotion | fear for loved ones, anxiety about losing savings, time pressure | that is scammers' main tool. Effective education must not only convey knowledge but also teach how to recognise and manage emotions in stressful situations.
Third, there's a lack of materials in national languages adapted to local legal and cultural realities. Most educational programmes are created in English and address the American or Western European context. Polish and Hungarian older adults need materials that relate to their everyday lives | their bank, their phone provider, their favourite news site.
What the research review found
The review identified seven key areas where education for older adults urgently needs to be expanded: (1) recognising multi-channel phishing, (2) safe use of mobile banking, (3) protecting digital identity, (4) responding to deepfakes and voice cloning, (5) safe online shopping, (6) password management and two-factor authentication, (7) recognising emotional manipulation. Each of these areas has been included in the ODYSSEY course.
What can you do right now?
Whether you're an older adult, a caregiver, or an educator | there's one rule worth remembering and passing on. This is the Z-Z-Z rule, promoted by the National Police Headquarters:
- Stop | don't act under the influence of emotion. Scammers apply time pressure so you don't have a moment to reflect. Any request for immediate action is a warning sign.
- Think it over | does this situation make sense? Would the bank really call asking you to transfer money? Would your grandson really call from an unfamiliar number? Ask yourself these questions before taking any action.
- Call | contact the person the caller claims to be. But don't call back the number that called you | look up the correct number yourself, in a phone book, on the bank's website, or in your phone's contacts. One verification call can save a lifetime of savings.
This simple rule is effective because it strikes at the very core of the scam mechanism. Criminals rely on an automatic reaction | on the victim not having time to think. The Z-Z-Z rule interrupts that automatic response and gives time for a rational assessment of the situation.
If you'd like to learn more tools and techniques for protecting yourself against scams, we invite you to our free ODYSSEY course. You'll find six thematic modules there | from the basics of digital safety, through recognising manipulation, to practical exercises with online banking | all designed with people 60+ in mind.