From November 2023, you can reserve your PESEL number in the mObywatel application. So far, however, it has been a cosmetic change that does not legally protect us against fraud. This will change on June 1. From that day on, all financial institutions will have to check the PESEL Number Objection Register before they grant someone a loan or sign a contract.
How to block your PESEL number? How to undo a disclaimer?
It’s very simple. This can be done in the mObywatel application or on the website mobywatel.gov.pl via Zaufany Profil, as well as in person at any commune office. Just select the “Reserve PESEL” option and follow the instructions.
The following entities will be obliged to verify the PESEL number: banks, credit unions, loan companies, telecommunications companies and notaries. If we want to take out a loan or use another service that requires identity verification, this reservation can be withdrawn. To do this, just use the application or the mObywatel.gov.pl website, where you will find the “Withdraw reservation” banner. The Ministry of Digitization recommends using this option only if you want to deal with a specific matter. And after taking out a loan or purchasing a TV in installments, it is desirable to reserve the PESEL number again.
Restricting the PESEL number is intended to limit the effects of identity theft, which often lead to loan fraud. When our number is withheld, it provides us with protection against its unauthorized use, for example in the event of attempts to take out a loan for another person without his or her knowledge or consent or other activities requiring identity verification.
The number of frauds is increasing. But now banks will also take responsibility for this
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digitization Krzysztof Gawkowski emphasized that the number of loans taken out on other people’s data is constantly growing. He noted that in Poland in the last quarter alone, the number of attacks and loan fraud attempts increased by over 12 percent.
An attempt to extort a loan or various types of financial fraud occurs on average every 40 minutes. This means that in 2024 alone, over 3,000 fraud attempts were recorded
– said the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
The victims of such extortions and frauds are most often elderly people, said the Minister of Senior Policy, Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz. She added that so far, approximately 700,000 citizens over 60 years of age have reserved their PESEL number, which means that only 10 percent of people in this age group have chosen to do so.
Karol Tokarczyk, an analyst for the digital economy at Polityka Insight, explained that if, despite the reservation of the PESEL number, a liability arises, institutions will not be able to pursue claims in this respect. – This is a big change that will probably strongly motivate financial institutions to improve security and verify who uses financial instruments – he said. Currently, the burden of proof is on the victim of identity theft to prove that it was not him but the fraudster who took out a loan or other legal or financial obligation.
Source: Gazeta
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