Police Warn of Fake Documents Misusing Logos of Police Institutions

Bratislava, 22 July (TASR) - The Police Corps has warned of fake documents attempting to pass themselves off as official correspondence from foreign security forces, such as the Australian Federal Police, Interpol or specialised centres for combating child sexual abuse, TASR was told by spokesman for the Police Corps Presidium Roman Hajek on Tuesday. "These documents wrongfully use the logos of police and international institutions, contain false signatures of well-known police officials and falsely claim that the addressee is under investigation for serious criminal activities, such as child pornography or human trafficking," said Hajek. Fraudsters also exert psychological pressure by setting an deadline for a response (usually 24 hours) under the threat of media coverage of the case or inclusion in the register of offenders, added the spokesman, noting that a common feature of these documents is that they contain no evidence of criminal activity. According to the police, this is a fraudulent act aimed at intimidating the victim, extorting their personal data or funds, or forcing them to click on a malicious link. The police are therefore urging the public not to respond to such documents, not to click on any links, not to provide personal or bank details, not to pay anything and to delete the document or email immediately. am/df