What the postal police do when you report a scam

For individuals, cybersecurity isn't about antivirus software; it's about habits. Ninety percent of reported frauds don't stem from technical vulnerabilities, but from people being convinced by a phone call, SMS, or a well-crafted message to do the wrong thing.

If you receive a strange message from a fake delivery service, a fake bank, or a fake operator from a website you use, there's only one rule: don't click. Close the message, open the official app or website manually, and look for the information there. Most scams die out when the victim ignores the link and authenticates through the official channel.

Two-factor authentication should be active on anything that involves money or identity: your bank, primary email, and your favorite marketplace account. Even better, use a passkey, the latest system that's highly resistant to phishing attacks. It takes five minutes to set up once, and it eliminates half of your risks.

Selling a gift card online cleanly primarily means having recent proof of its balance. Major chains, from Amazon to Zalando, offer the ability to check the remaining credit from your account: a screenshot with a visible date is much more effective than a thousand reassurances. Anyone who agrees to pay without asking for this proof is usually either desperate or a professional risk-taker.

If you've been scammed online, report it. Always. Even for small amounts, even if you're convinced it's "useless." Reports are the only way the postal police can reconstruct patterns and shut down linked accounts. Every report, in aggregate, protects the next person.

A simple but powerful habit is to keep the minimum possible funds on the card you use for online purchases. Use a dedicated prepaid card; load only the amount you need and nothing more. Even if someone manages to steal its details, the maximum damage is already limited from the start. A small friction for great peace of mind.

Of course, sometimes something unexpected will still happen. That's part of the game. But when it does, if you've done your groundwork well, the problem will be resolved with a few emails and not a police report. That's already a huge victory, even if it doesn't seem like it.