You can reserve your PESEL number in the mObywatel application since November last year. This includes: to fight against extorting money by, for example, taking out a loan for another person without his or her knowledge and consent.
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MC: over 1.2 million people have reserved their PESEL number
You have to wait for the PESEL reservation status to change
The Ministry of Digitization reminds that thanks to the Zastrzeż PESEL service in the application, you can easily and quickly decide on its status. You can choose one of two options:
- withdraw the restriction indefinitely – this means that our PESEL will no longer be protected until we reserve it again,
- temporarily withdraw the restriction – in this option, the application will ask us to designate the day and time when the PESEL is to be automatically reserved. This means you don't have to remember to turn protection back on.
If the restriction of the PESEL number is withdrawn indefinitely, you will have to wait for the status of the restriction to change. Why? The Ministry of Digital Affairs explains it based on a simple story:
The story of Ania and Marcin
Ania and Marcin are a married couple who decided to reserve their PESEL numbers. One day, Ania had to quickly withdraw her reservation in order to buy a TV set in installments. In turn, Marcin wanted to withdraw a large sum from the bank. Here are their stories and reasons for waiting.
Half-hour break: Ania
Ania withdrew her PESEL reservation to buy her dream household appliances. However, after leaving the store, she had to wait 30 minutes to be able to block her PESEL number again. This break is necessary for the system to function efficiently and to prevent abuse. Let's imagine that every institution would have to update data every now and then. This could lead to errors that would threaten the security of our data. Otherwise, someone could share their Trusted Profile data with another person when arranging a loan. The other person could then quickly block the PESEL number, mislead the lender and thus try to avoid repaying the loan. Thanks to this break, institutions have time to properly update the status, prevent possible abuses, and our data is safe.
Twelve-hour break: Marcin
Marcin forgot that he had a registered PESEL number and wanted to withdraw PLN 12,900. The bank informed him that he had to wait 12 hours for the withdrawal. This protection against fraud using the "grandson" or "policeman" method is crucial. Let's imagine that someone tries to withdraw our money by impersonating us, or that someone close to us is manipulated and tries to withdraw large funds from their account and transfer them to fraudsters who impersonate a family member or a policeman. The 12-hour break gives the bank time to carefully check the transaction and for us to confirm that the decision is well-thought-out. Thanks to this, our money is safe and we have time to make sure everything is in order.
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From June 1, by blocking your PESEL number, you can avoid loan fraud
Why are breaks important?
Proverbs are the wisdom of the nation – and as an old Polish proverb says: whatever happens suddenly, comes to hell. Interruptions in changing the PESEL status help maintain data security and prevent abuse. Thanks to them, we can be sure that each change is well thought out and that our data is protected.
– In this way, we create a safe, modern and friendly system that makes life easier for citizens. We work to make Poland a country where digital services are simple, safe and available to everyone, because for us the citizen is always the most important – emphasizes MI.
According to MC data, so far four million people in Poland have reserved their PESEL number.
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