Gardaí are reminding people of scams that continue to see people handing over large sums of money or have money taken from the ban accounts.
In a renewed appeal, Crime Prevention Officer for Clare Sergeant Triona Brooks said: “Unfortunately a number of people have been the victims of scams during the past week.”
:Two ladies got a text purporting to be from Bank of Ireland notifying them that there had been financial outgoing requests made on their account. I too got the same text even though I don’t have an account with BOI. It asks the person to follow a link which unfortunately the two ladies did and they then realised that a substantial amount of money had been taken from their accounts,” Sgt Brooks said.
“In an other incident, a gentleman paid €6,000 for a car and delivery of same to an English bank account. This car had been advertised on a fake Facebook page. The car never arrived and he has since failed to make contact with the seller and has not received the vehicle.
Another gentleman applied online for a loan – he was told he had to pay a deposit with fees just over €2,000 before he received his loan which he did and then realised that he had paid it into a fraudulent bank account,” Sgt Brooks added.
The advice is:
– Don’t click on a link or download an attachment
– Never respond to a text message that requests your PIN or password. When in doubt double check on your bank’s website or give them a call.
– If you think you might have responded to a text or email and have provided your details, contact your bank immediately.
The Garda website provides more information on Cyber Crime.