A presentation created during the Youth Exchange Money is No Honey, financed by Erasmus+ through European Union. More information about the international mobility programs here:https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/opportunities-for-individuals/youth-exchanges

1. Financial Frauds
– Czech
Republic
To scam or to be
scammed?

2. • Non-existent COVID masks –
A wide range of frauds aimed
to misuse the governmental
funds, a private seller made
a fictional e-shop where he
was selling masks (more than
100 CZK per mask), making
about 5 000 € in just 3 days,
never delivering these masks
- Orphan siblings – Their
parents supposedly died
during a car accident, people
donated more than 1,3
million CZK to the Facebook
account of Eva Ptáčková,
none of these orphans really
existed, Eva Ptáčková
attempted to commit a
suicide later on

3. Too Good to Be True -
J.O. Investment
• More than 4,500 scammed clients
in 2021
• More than 2,3 billions CZK stolen
• Offering investors completely
unreal profits on famous stock
exchanges, without really
investing the money
• The funds were used for buying
luxury cars, expensive trips,
withdrawn in cash and used for
buying gold
• 10 years of prison for 3 initiators

4. Global Economic Crime
and Fraud Survey 2018 –
Czech Republic
• 33% of Czech respondents
experienced economic crime
in the last 2 years
• 42% of the affected companies
experienced direct losses
exceeding USD 50,000
• Only 30% of survey
respondents use modern
technologies to combat fraud
• 41% Czech respondents were
targeted by phishing attack (It
is significantly higher than
the CEE (28%) and global
level (33%).

5. Are we „frauded“ by
the statistics?
• Incidents of fraud in the Czech Republic seem to decrease as
they amounted to 33% in 2018 vs. 48% in 2014 when
compared with previous Fraud Surveys data
• However, globally, the number of frauds is constantly
rising, from 33% in 2014 to 49% in 2018
• On the other hand, Czech companies are less likely than their
counterparts in other countries to detect fraud schemes
• Professionals perceive a causality between the limited use of
the anti-fraud technology solutions by Czech organisations and
the decreasing number of fraud cases reported by Czech
corporations

6. • „A thorough understanding of a liar‘s mind as well as the ability to see
through its unoriginality and single-mindedness is one‘s best
protection against falling victim to the perpetrators of innumerous
crimes…“
Me,
Right now

7. How do I scam somebody? -
Your Guidebook for Modern
Scamming
- A scammer‘s initiative can reflect a concrete need or desire of another
person
- It can be based on a falsely created emotional attachment
- It can be supported by the feelings of fear or lack of information
- It can be a false imitation of a daily routine (bank payment)

8. Tinder – The
Costly Love
- Presence of both spamming bots and real
employees on dating apps trying to
create a bond of friendship and
consequently, scamming the other person
- Phenomenon called „catfishing“
- Around 1 in 3 people have been catfished
online, and 20% of those victims actually
sent money to the catfishers

9. Charles
Ponzi
• The most prominent case of the so-called „Ponzi scheme“
• He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days or 100% profit within 90
days, paying his first clients with the money coming from new clients –
„pyramide“
• In the eyes of his clients, the business seemed legitimate and based on
the „arbitrage“ of discounted postal reply coupons
• His company was even hiring financial advisors for more credibility,
supported by media
• Losses about $199 million dollars (in 2020)

11. • The initiator of the biggest financial scam in history
• Former NASDAQ chairman and founder of the Wall
Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
• Losses about $18 billion, 53 times the losses of Ponzi's
scheme
• Died in prison in 2021
• At one point, Madoff Securities was the largest buying-
and-selling "market maker" at the NASDAQ
• He founded his company in 1960 and was its chairman
until 2008
• Sentenced to 150 years (Ponzi to 5 years)
• Fraud discovered because of 2008 crisis, "I had more
than enough money to support any of my lifestyle
and my family's lifestyle. I didn't need to do this for
that," he told Fishman, adding, "I don't know why."